In a professional career spanning over two decades, Tim Howard has done and seen it all.

The New Jersey-native and sometime-Memphian played for arguably the biggest club in the world (Manchester United), played 329 games with Everton in the English Premier League and made 121 appearances for the United States national team, starting in goal in every match of both the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. He is, as the Chicago Tribune once wrote, the “rarest of creatures — an American soccer hero.”

Now he’s ready for a new challenge.

On Wednesday, Memphis 901 FC officially announced that Howard will serve as the club’s new sporting director. He’ll replace Andrew Bell, who was responsible for forming the roster during the club’s maiden voyage through the United Soccer League in 2019.

Coincidentally (but most likely not), the announcement of Howard comes two years to the day of the club’s founding. Club president Craig Unger said it’s just another sign of his team’s commitment to the city and to eventual success.

“We’ve said from the beginning that we want to build something that’s authentic (and) that’s real,” he said. “And we want to be a premier franchise. We believe every time — in the office no matter what we do — that we want to be the best. We want to be the best USL franchise; we want to be a model soccer franchise … everything we want to do is to be the best.

“(And) we want people to see this is a long-term thing. Not just one year, ‘come down and enjoy it’ and whatever else. We’re here to stay. Professional soccer in Memphis is going to be here for a very long time and we are investing in making the team better, making the product better.”

We sat down with Howard to discuss his new role, his vision for the club and his expectations for the season ahead of the season-opener against Indy Eleven on March 7 at AutoZone Park.

Daily Memphian: Instead of enjoying the comfortable life of a retired soccer legend, why have you decided to do this? Why are you taking this on?

Tim Howard: (Laughing) Me being bored is a bad thing; that’s something I’ve learned over time. I didn’t want to be bored. I had a playing career that I’m proud of, a legacy that I’ve been able to leave behind that I’m very proud of, but now I’m moving forward and I want to be great at something else. That’s how I look at it.

I don’t want to be looked at as a former player who’s doing this. I want to be looked at as an executive that’s having success. That will take time. But I’m determined to do it. I love the game of football and I tell people all the time, nothing can replace playing. Nothing can replace that feeling. But certainly I identified before I took this job that this is a role that excites me in terms of the competition aspect.

The ability to stay up late at night and think of ways to build this team. The setbacks, the achievements, one player says ‘no’ and another player says ‘yes’ and trying to find the right players. There’s a competitive edge to that … a lot of that ties into my personality. I like bringing people together.

DM: So there was a point during your career when it got into your head that front-office work was something you’d like to do?

TH: Yeah … my retirement was no surprise. It was something I had been thinking about for three to five years. So obviously at that point, I had to identify what (else) I would be good at. What would I like?

Coaching isn’t that; I knew from early on that I wouldn’t like that. So there are a couple of other outlets you can do as a former player and I always thought front office work — I have friends in front offices both at MLS clubs and abroad — and I just thought it was something that would mix with my skill set. I could see wanting to give that a go and feeling I could have some success with that.

I say this to you not arrogantly; I know what a good football club looks like. I say that because of been on some bad ones, and I’ve been on some good ones. Knowing what a good football club looks like and actually executing it, two different things. But I have a vision of what I want our club to be.

DM: A lot of people use the term ‘sporting director’ and ‘general manager’ interchangeably. But there’s a bit of a difference, isn’t there?

TH: There is a difference. Sporting director is a much more European term that’s exclusive to soccer.

Sporting director is simply this: You’re focused on everything that involves the word ‘football.' You’re focused on bringing in players, dealing with agents, dealing with other clubs, the training ground. You’re essentially general-managing the entire team. So anything that has to do with football decisions is driven through this position.

The sporting director is very close with the coach and the players in creating an ethos for the club in terms of style of play.

DM: So what is your philosophy on putting a team together?

TH: So part of my job coming in was to create lanes, to create this ethos of who we want to be. If you don’t have that year-in and year-out, all you’re doing is (getting) the best players (you can), throwing them up in the air and hope they mesh. And if you don’t, you do it again the next year.

I think we need a clear vision, a clear path. We want to recruit more athletic players, more versatile players in terms of guys who can play multiple positions and we wanted better leadership. We’ve signed — and they’ll be announced soon — but we’ve signed three or four players who last year were captains of their club.

And also on the team-side of things, we want to be way more aggressive. We want to be on the front foot (and) we want to literally make it a disastrous night for other teams when they come to Memphis and play. It’s not going to be an easy night. I think that also speaks to the aggressive, hard-working nature of the city. That’s what our fans deserve.

Interestingly enough, it’s the second year but it still feels like a re-do of the first year. We have an opportunity to continue to reset culture and standards.

DM: The holdovers from last year (901 FC is returning nine players from 2019’s squad), how will they blend in with that?

TH: Last game of the season, Louisville at home, we had 23 players on the roster. The next day, we cut the roster down to nine. The only reason those nine guys are is because we think they can contribute and we think they’re assets to the club. 

The nature of any sport, it’s a win (oriented) business and it’s cutthroat. So we’re bringing in competition for places and guys are going to have to earn their keep. They’ll have to fight tooth and nail to be in a position to play. If we can create competition … ultimately the team grows and gets better.

DM: You’re really excited about this process aren’t you?

TH: I’ve done everything in soccer, but I’ve done nothing on the executive side. My goal is to learn, roll with the punches, take my lumps and get better and keep pushing forward. That’s what excites me.

Like I said, I don’t want to be a former player doing this. That’s done. I want to be an executive, and I want to be great at it.

DM: But was it tough to walk away from playing?

TH: A little bit. But I was ready. I was so incredibly content with the decision, and I have no regrets. The time was right and I just knew it. It wasn’t something I felt apprehensive about. … I was ready.

DM: So that means there’s no chance we’ll see you suit up again in case of a goalkeeper crisis?

TH: (Laughs) If there’s a goalkeeper crisis my job is to find a goalkeeper.

DM: So what will define a successful season for the club in 2020?

TH: Last year’s team … we were in touching distance of the playoffs but we needed some help from other teams. Had last year’s team made the playoffs, it would have been an overachievement. The idea with this year’s team — and again, nothing gets done on paper, nothing gets done in the boardroom — but this current team we’re putting together should be a playoff team. If we don’t, it would be a disappointment.

And that’s not to heap pressure on the team; it’s simply the facts. Because ultimately, the goal is to be competing for an Eastern Conference championship. The only way to do that is to be in playoffs every single year. And then you start getting home game in the playoffs and beating those good teams … so that’s the goal.