Former Tampa Bay Mutiny defender Frank Yallop will re-join the team as an assistant coach for the 1999 MLS season. Yallop, waived by the Mutiny on Nov. 1, will begin his new duties on Jan. 1. He will join holdover assistant coach Perry Van Der Beck on the Mutiny coaching staff. “It’s always great when a player is able to retire and step into coaching right away and especially staying with the club that he played for,” said Tampa Bay GM Nick Sakiewicz. “We’re delighted that Frank has decided to accept an assistant coaching position with our club. His 19 years of demonstrated leadership as a player should serve him well in his new coaching career. With both he and Perry serving Tim, I believe we have a coaching staff second to none in the league.” In the interim period, Yallop will join MLS’s Project-40 team as an assistant coach for its five-game tour of England beginning Dec. 5. Yallop will work for P-40 head coach (and former Mutiny assistant coach) Lothar Osiander for games against the Manchester United, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland and Everton reserves. Yallop, the team’s sixth round pick in the 1996 MLS Dispersal Draft, was a three-year starter for the Mutiny, setting a team record in 1998 by playing in all 32 regular season games. He scored his first-ever MLS goal for the Mutiny in the Sept. 27 season finale at Miami against the Fusion and is second on the team all-time in games played (88), started (84) and minutes played (7,646). He was a member of the 1997 MLS Eastern Conference All-Star team. “I had meetings over the last week with a number of people, including some A-League teams, and I just decided that at this time in my career, I wanted to stay in MLS,” said Yallop. “I felt I had maybe a year or so left to play but once I made the decision not to play, it was an easy choice for me. “I love the organization and all the people in it. I bleed Mutiny, I guess you could say, and I’m very grateful to both Nick and Tim for giving me this opportunity. I look forward to getting back to the club after the Project-40 trip.”