Is Gregg Berhalter a good coach for the USMNT?

Gregg Berhalter's tenure as manager of the U.S. men's national team has divided opinion from the start.

Yes, he'd helped the Columbus Crew punch above its weight as the Designated Player era in MLS entered its second decade. But he was hired while his brother was the chief commercial officer at the U.S. Soccer Federation, raising questions about a potential conflict of interest.

On top of that, his hiring seemed to some like a retrenchment back to the relatively small and insular community of U.S. Soccer. After the disastrous reign of Jurgen Klinsmann -- the ultimate outsider and a critic of U.S. Soccer -- no more outsiders would be leading the way.

Despite such concerns, Berhalter then went on to lead the U.S. through a successful 2022 World Cup qualification campaign, which helped erase memories of the USMNT crashing out four years earlier thanks to a hole Klinsmann dug early on in qualifiers. Once in Qatar, the Americans under Berhalter reached the round of 16, which was neither a high nor low mark for the USMNT. Some felt Berhalter met expectations at the World Cup, but others questioned whether the team should've done better with a group of players widely viewed as the best U.S. generation ever.

Just over five years since Berhalter was first hired, opinion remains divided among players, coaches and fans: Is Berhalter actually a good coach?

ESPN analyst Ryan O'Hanlon will delve into the numbers to see how Berhalter stacks against his USMNT predecessors. Has there been discernible progress on the field? Is the team winning more often than it used to? Has Berhalter been able to institute the kind of cohesive attacking style that USMNT fans have been calling out for? And most importantly, does he have the team performing at, above, or below the level of its talent?

But there are also aspects beyond the numbers to consider. Can Berhalter manage the egos of these players and get them pointed in the same direction? Do the players in the USMNT locker room trust him? And is his tactics-heavy approach the right fit at the international level? ESPN national reporter Jeff Carlisle spoke to former players and colleagues to get answers.

"I thought he was an excellent coach -- very, very good tactically," former Columbus Crew and U.S. international defender Michael Parkhurst told ESPN. "And just understanding the game, no detail went unnoticed."

Former U.S. international forward and "Fútbol Americas" host Herculez Gomez takes a different view: "I don't think he's the best coach for the U.S. men's national team. That doesn't mean he can't be a good coach. I just think he's a very inexperienced coach."