OMNISPORT

The English national team is in crisis mode, in desperate need of a manager to rebuild the program after it hit rock bottom in a European Championship loss to Iceland. Obvious English candidates for the job are in short supply, and one name making the rounds as a possible option is none other than the man currently leading the United States.

Jurgen Klinsmann is always being linked to jobs in England. Partly because he's a well-liked figure across the pond, and partly because betting sites and news outlets know that any mention of the U.S. coach regarding a job in England causes traffic and interest to skyrocket. This often leads to completely fictitious stories and links, but the latest rumblings about Klinsmann and England deserve more close consideration for one simple reason.

Klinsmann may actually be better suited for the England job than the one he has right now.

England may have looked completely lost in Monday's loss to Iceland, but there is no disputing the English have a generation of impressive young talent coming up the pipeline. It is a group with much more talent than self belief, at least that's how it looked in France this month.

Klinsmann is very much a motivator, and someone who can convince young players they are capable of anything. He also has the ability to make tough decisions. Wayne Rooney isn't good enough? See ya Wayne. Joe Hart looking too shaky to rely on anymore? Don't bother coming back Joe. From his benching of Oliver Kahn ahead of the 2006 World Cup, to his dropping of Landon Donovan from the 2014 U.S. World Cup team, Klinsmann has shown he won't shy away from any move he feels needs to be made.

And what of Klinsmann's ability as a tactician? That question has loomed large during Klinsmann's time with the U.S., not to mention in the years after his departure from the Germany job, which saw several German players question his tactics and overall ability as a manager.

England wouldn't lose too much sleep worrying about his tactics, because simply instilling self-belief into the country's talented pool of players would help jumpstart the program. Sure, in an ideal world England could find someone who could combine tactical savvy and motivational prowess, like a Diego Simeone or Antonio Conte, but with such candidates currently impossible to find, Klinsmann becomes a very attractive option.

Would the U.S. just let Klinsmann walk away after five years, and just two years before a World Cup? The answer would have been a resounding no shortly after the 2014 World Cup, but there is a sense these days that Klinsmann isn't nearly the sacred cow in U.S. Soccer circles he once was. Sunil Gulati, the man who was so enamored with Klinsmann that he spent five years courting the German, doesn't sound nearly as smitten about Klinsmann as he used to. Sure, Gulati says all the right things publicly – few are better at that skill – but everything from the tone of his comments about Klinsmann to his body language paint the picture of a man who is not nearly as convinced as he used to be.

That doesn't mean Gulati or U.S. Soccer is about to make a coaching change. The fourth-place finish at Copa America has secured Klinsmann's job security all the way through the 2018 World Cup, assuming the Americans make it. The job is Klinsmann's as long as he wants it, but the question is now if he wants the U.S. job more than the England job.

England possesses so many of the things Klinsmann has openly yearned for. It has a deep talent pool, with all of its top players playing in one of the best leagues in the world. He also wants his players to feel constant pressure to keep them on top of their game. There aren't many national teams that swim in pressure on a constant basis like England.

Would Klinsmann seriously be considered for the job? It might be tough to imagine for fans in the U.S., but the reality is Klinsmann's reputation as a coach is far more flattering outside the U.S. than inside. In international circles, Klinsmann was lauded for guiding the U.S. to the 2014 World Cup round of 16, just as he is being credited with helping the U.S. reach the semifinals of Copa America. Here in the States, there is just as much cynicism about Klinsmann's accomplishments as there is praise.

There is a reason for that. Here in the U.S., there is definitely a sense of stagnation, a feeling that the program hasn't truly progressed in the five years since Klinsmann took over. Klinsmann has helped the U.S. enjoy some important victories, many in friendlies, but also some in official games, such as the World Cup win against Ghana in 2014 and more recently the Copa America triumph against Ecuador.

Those were good wins, but neither really felt like a turning point in the evolution of Klinsmann's national team. That moment still hasn't come yet, which is probably why some wonder if it will ever come at all.

Perhaps Klinsmann's true impact won't be felt in U.S. Soccer until after he leaves. The seeds he helped plant in the German national team setup didn't bear World Cup-winning fruit until well after he had gone.

Maybe Gulati will look at his post-Klinsmann options and decide it's better to see out the next two years with the man he has now rather than tempting fate with a new coach. Of course, it may not matter if England comes calling and Klinsmann sees the opportunity to build England into a real power rather than continuing his struggle to get the U.S. to reach the elite level.

That may be too tempting an offer for Klinsmann to turn down, and is probably one he should take if it comes. It could wind up being a change that benefits both Klinsmann and the U.S. national team.