RENTON, Wash. — Is it Pete Carroll with the Seahawks? Maybe Don James with UW? Could it be someone who oversaw an Olympic sport, or a high-school hoops team?

Trying to figure out who the best coaches are requires far more nuance and guesswork than ranking the top athletes — and ranking the top athletes is tough enough.

But what if I were to suggest that there is one man two victories from shooting to the top of the Seattle sports coaching pyramid? Because while Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer may not have the fanfare of other local greats who have worn whistles around their necks, it's hard to say anyone can top his résumé ... which is on the verge of adding even more sparkle.

On Saturday night the Sounders will take on the Galaxy in Los Angeles for the chance to reach their fifth MLS Cup in the past nine seasons. No other team in the league has gotten to the final that many times in that span.

And Seattle isn't just content getting in there. It has won the title twice, each sparking a championship parade throughout the city. This didn't happen before Schmetzer took over as coach in 2016. Regular-season success was incessant in the team's previous seven MLS seasons, but it never ended with trophies in the playoffs.

Something clicked when Schmetzer, a Seattle native, came to the helm. And it hasn't really stopped.

Players such as Nico Lodeiro and Raúl Ruidíaz dominated the stat sheets in some of those previous title runs, but that hasn't been the case this season. Lodeiro is in Orlando, and Ruidíaz has seen limited time due to injury.

As Schmetzer pointed out, this year's Sounders are largely defined by local talent ranging from Jordan Morris, to Cristian Roldan to Jackson Ragen to Paul Rothrock to Josh Atencio. And then there is the contribution of designated player Albert Rusnák, who has 10 goals and 16 assists.

Said Schmetzer: "A lot of people were doubting their identity, but they proved them wrong."

Yeah, the players may have done that. Especially after starting the season 1-3-4 through eight games, and 5-7-5 at the midway point. Since then the Sounders have been the hottest team in MLS, finishing the regular season 16-9-9 and notching a 3-0 playoff record en route to the Western Conference final.

Sorry, but you have to attribute a significant portion of that to coaching. This team, as it has in so many second halves of the season, overcame its shortcomings and then overpowered its opponents.

Still, oddsmakers say the Galaxy are almost twice as likely than Seattle to win Saturday. Then again, the oddsmakers favored LAFC to beat the Sounders in the Western Conference semifinals last week. Didn't happen.

But that shouldn't surprise fans who have been watching this team over the years. Simply put: That's the Sounders' standard.

Do you feel pressure to reach another MLS Cup? a reporter asked Schmetzer on Wednesday.

"(It's) not pressure. It's the standard that they set. The standard of this club is what drives these guys. It's not pressure. It's their own internal willingness, ability, sacrifice, togetherness ... it's all internal," Schmetzer said. "I set my coaching standard. If I reach that ... if all the players reach their personal standards, that gives us the best chance as a collective to go through in games like this."

The word standard was mentioned throughout Wednesday's news conference by both Schmetzer and Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei. Asked if he felt the Sounders vs. Galaxy was a "rivalry" game, Frei said it was more about two clubs that have a particularly high standard.

But isn't it Schmetzer who set that in Seattle? Isn't the guy who's spent half his MLS head-coaching career reaching MLS Cups responsible for making title contention the norm?

Schmetzer himself would likely credit his predecessor, Sigi Schmid, for establishing that foundation. But it's Brian who has built the skyscraper.

Of course, any coach or player focusing on legacy instead of strategy heading into a game vs. a Galaxy team that has outscored opponents 15-3 in their three playoff games this year would be foolish. L.A. is a video-game boss in this MLS bracket.

But it's worth remembering that Seattle is two wins from championship No. 3 under its coach. That's in addition to a CONCACAF Champions Cup — perhaps the Sounders' greatest achievement — in 2022.

Again, ranking coaches is a study in subjectivity. Players, payroll, front-office decisions — they all factor into elite success. But a third championship?

Schmetzer isn't likely thinking about that quite yet. He's already in the conversation for Seattle's greatest coaches — but with two more wins he's maybe even the first name mentioned.

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