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Revolving Doors: Which MLS clubs churn through head coaches?

Next year, 12 of the league's 30 teams will have new head coaches in place — the average tenure in MLS will be just 1.8 years. We look at which clubs burn through managers, and which play for keepsies.

Nick Cushing was New York City FC's longest-tenured coach with 107 games in charge | Courtesy newyorkcityfc.com

The Major League Soccer coaching carousel is busy these days. Last week, Toronto FC and John Herdman parted ways on Friday, just five days after New York City FC announced that Nick Cushing was let go with one year remaining on his contract. When the 2025 season gets underway, 12 of the league's 30 clubs will have new head coaches in place.

Six of those clubs parted ways with their longest-serving head coach this year. Philadelphia Union let Jim Curtin go after more than ten years in charge, while both Nashville SC and Austin FC fired their only head coaches in the short histories of their clubs.

Next year, the average tenure of an MLS head coach will be 1.8 years. But that number is distorted by the unusually long career of Peter Vermes at Sporting Kansas City — take him out of the equation, and the average tenure of an MLS head coach is just 1.3 years.

MLS | Current Head Coaches

Club Name Appointed Games
1. Sporting Kansas City Peter Vermes 2009 595
2. Seattle Sounders Brian Schmetzer 2016 341
3. Orlando City Óscar Pareja 2019 195
4. LA Galaxy Greg Vanney 2021 155
5. LAFC Steve Cherundolo 2022 143
6. Real Salt Lake Pablo Mastroeni 2021 138
7. FC Cincinnati Pat Noonan 2021 130
8. Columbus Crew Wilfried Nancy 2022 94
9. Houston Dynamo Ben Olsen 2022 93
10. Colorado Rapids Chris Armas 2023 43
11. New England Caleb Porter 2023 43
12. New York Red Bulls Sandro Schwarz 2023 40
13. Charlotte FC Dean Smith 2023 39
14. CF Montréal Laurent Courtois 2024 40
15. Portland Timbers Phil Neville 2024 38
16. DC United Troy Lesesne 2024 37
17. Minnestoa United Eric Ramsay 2024 36
18. Nashville SC BJ Callaghan 2024 11
19. Austin FC Nico Estévez 2024 -
20. Chicago Fire Gregg Berhalter 2024 -
21. Inter Miami Javier Mascherano 2024 -
22. FC Dallas Eric Quill 2024 -
23. San Diego FC Mikey Varas 2024 -
24. San Jose Earthquakes Bruce Arena 2024 -
25. St. Louis City Olof Mellberg 2024 -
26. Atlanta United TBD TBD
27. Philadelphia Union TBD TBD -
28. New York City FC TBD TBD -
29. Toronto FC TBD TBD -
30. Vancouver Whitecaps TBD TBD -

That prompted us to look at the employment history of each club to see which ones prize stability (see: Seattle Sounders, which had exactly two head coaches since joining the league in 2009), and which ones are more erratic (see: Toronto FC, which are looking to hire their fifth head coach in five years). Then we placed each organization in one of three categories: Clubs with Tenure, Looking for Mr. Right, and Revolving Doors.

True, some clubs are tricky to classify. Philadelphia were a Club with Tenure, but now they're Looking for Mr. Right. Others are more straightforward: Sporting Kansas City are a Club with Tenure, while New York Red Bulls have a Revolving Door unlike any other in the league. And a few, such as New York City and Orlando City, might surprise you.


Clubs with tenure

• Sporting Kansas City

One of the league's founding clubs, Sporting Kansas City have had just four head coaches in their history. Peter Vermes (595 games) was appointed ahead of the 2010 season, when Philadelphia joined the league: MLS added 15 teams since his 16-year tenure at Kansas City started.

• Seattle Sounders

Maybe the most stable club in the league? Seattle Sounders have had just two head coaches since joining MLS in 2009. First, there was Sigi Schmid (329 games), who led the team for eight and one-half seasons — the MLS Coach of the Year is named after him. Now there is Brian Schmetzer (341 games), who has been at the helm ever since.

• LA Galaxy

With the win over Seattle on Saturday, Greg Vanney (155 games) is taking LA Galaxy to their first MLS Cup Final since 2014. Vanney, who joined LA Galaxy before the start of the 2021 season, has the third-longest tenure in club history after Bruce Arena (346 games) and Sigi Schmid (199 games). Those three head coaches account for 18 of the club's 29 seasons to date.

• LAFC

Two head coaches in seven years, and Steve Cherundolo (143 games) isn't going anywhere. It helps that the team was wildly successful under both Cherundolo and former head coach Bob Bradley (142 games), winning two Supporters' Shields, one MLS Cup, and two Golden Boots.

• Columbus Crew

Next year, Wilfried Nancy (94 games) will begin his third season in charge of Columbus Crew — unless he's hired away by a European club as rumored. He's just the club's second head coach since Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam bought the club in 2018, and the third since the start of the 2013 season. Nancy follows Caleb Porter (138 games) and Gregg Berlhalter (192 games).

• Orlando City

After burning through three head coaches four years, Orlando City found their guy in Óscar Pareja (195 games). More importantly, the club are patient: Orlando's only piece of silverware is the 2022 US Open Cup, but Pareja is developing the team into a title contender.

• Portland Timbers

Phil Neville (38 games) is just one year into his time at Portland Timbers, where he is the fourth head coach in club history. But he comes after Giovanni Saverse (216 games), who was in the job for more than five seasons, and Caleb Porter (200 games), who was head coach for five seasons.

• New England Revolution

There's a history of tenure at New England Revolution: Steve Nicol (351 games) led the team for more than eight years, then was followed by Jay Heaps (220 games), who was fired just before the end of the 2017 season. But Bruce Arena (151 games) was let go with 10 games left in the 2023 season. Current head coach Caleb Porter (43 games) is always in it for the long haul: He was at Columbus for three full seasons after leading Portland for five full seasons.


MLS | Longest-Serving Head Coach by Club

Club Name Years Games
1. Sporting KC Peter Vermes 2009-present 595
2. Philadelphia Union Jim Curtin* 2014-2024 405
3. DC United Ben Olsen 2010-2020 375
4. Houston Dynamo Dominic Kinnear 2005-2014 370
5. NE Revolution Steve Nicol 2002-2011 351
6. LA Galaxy Bruce Arena 2008-2016 346
7. Seattle Sounders Brian Schmetzer 2016-present 340
8. Real Salt Lake Jason Kreis 2007-2013 261
9. Minnesota Adrian Heath 2016-2023 251
10. Toronto FC Greg Vanney 2014-2020 250
11. Portland Timbers Giovanni Savarese 2017-2023 216
12. FC Dallas Schellas Hyndman 2008-2013 201
13. Vancouver Whitecaps Carl Robinson 2013-2018 199
14. Orlando City Óscar Pareja 2019-present 194
15. Columbus Crew Gregg Berhalter 2013-2018 192
16. Chicago Fire Bob Bradley 1997-2002 183
17. San Jose Earthquakes Frank Yallop 2007-2013 182
18. Nashville SC Gary Smith* 2020-2024 163
19. NY Red Bulls Jesse Marsch 2015-2018 151
20. Austin FC Josh Wolff* 2021-2024 148
21. Colorado Rapids Glenn Myernick 1996-2000 145
22. LAFC Steve Cherundolo 2022-present 143
23. FC Cincinnati Pat Noonan 2021-present 130
24. Atlanta United Gonzalo Pineda* 2021-2024 108
25. New York City FC Nick Cushing* 2022-2024 107
26. Inter Miami Phil Neville 2021-2023 90
27. CF Montréal Mauro Biello 2015-2017 79
28. Charlotte FC Christian Lattanzio 2022-2023 63
29. St. Louis City Bradley Carnell* 2022-2024 62
30. San Diego FC Mikey Varas 2024-present 0

* Let go in 2024


Looking for Mr. Right

• Philadelphia Union

This club belongs in the category above: Jim Curtin (405 games) wasn't just Philadelphia's longest-tenured head coach, he was one of the longest-serving in league history. But after ten-plus seasons the organization decided it was time for a change.

• FC Cincinnati

The club cycled through head coaches during their Wooden Spoon era, burning through three permanent appointments – and three interim head coaches – in their first three years of existence. Then Pat Noonan (130 games) joined ahead of the 2022 season, and is on his way to building a legacy.

• Real Salt Lake

With just six head coaches since joining the league in 2005, Real Salt Lake don't make staffing changes often. But the organization is known to hit the panic button: Four of those were midseason hires, including current head coach Pablo Mastroeni (138 games).

• Chicago Fire

When Gregg Berhlater wears his Supreme x Nike Air Max in the technical area next season, he will be Chicago's fourth head coach in six years. But that follows a period of stability under Veljko Paunovic (149 games), who was with the club for four seasons.

• Houston Dynamo

Dominic Kinnear (370 games) was in charge when Houston Dynamo joined the league in 2006, and led the team for their first nine years of existence. Current head coach Ben Olsen (93 games), who took over ahead of the 2023 season, has the longest tenure at the club since Wilmer Cabrera (112) was fired in the middle of 2019.

• Vancouver Whitecaps

The club fired Vanni Sartini (148 games) after the head coach led an overachieving Vancouver Whitecaps to an upset playoff win over Portland. He was the club's third permanent head coach since the 2014 season.

• Minnesota United

With just two head coaches since joining the league in 2017, Minnesota United could be considered a Club with Tenure: Adrian Heath (251 games) led the team for nearly six years. But that "nearly" is key — he was let go with two games remaining in the season. Current head coach Eric Ramsay (36 games) took over from caretaker Cameron Knowles just three games into the 2024 season.

• Nashville SC

BJ Callaghan (11 games) is just the second permanent head coach in Nashville SC history after the club let go of Gary Smith (163 games) midway through the 2024 season.

• Austin FC

Josh Wolff (148 games) lasted for more than four seasons — not bad for a club's inaugural head coach. We'll see what happens with Nico Estévez when he takes over next year.

• Colorado Rapids

One of the league's founding clubs, the Colorado Rapids are serial daters: They have six head coaches with more than 100 games in charge, but no single one with more than 150 games: Young clubs like Cincinnati and Nashville have found more stability than Colorado.

• FC Dallas

A club that once offered tenure dismissed Nico Estévez (98) before the end of the 2024 season and Luchi González (87) before the end of the 2021 season when he failed to make the playoffs. Will Eric Quill, who will take over the club next year, get a longer leash?


MLS | Number of Head Coaches by Club§

Club Joined League Head Coaches
New York Red Bulls 1996 17
San Jose Earthquakes 1996†† 16*
LA Galaxy 1996 11
Colorado Rapids 1996 10
DC United 1996 9
FC Dallas 1996 9†
New England 1996 9
Columbus Crew 1996 8
Sporting Kansas City 1996 4
Chicago Fire 1998 12*
Real Salt Lake 2005 6
Houston Dynamo 2006 6
Toronto FC 2007 12†
Seattle Sounders 2009 2
Philadelphia Union 2010 4†
Portland Timbers 2011 5
Vancouver 2011 5†
CF Montréal 2012 10
New York City FC 2015 5†
Orlando City 2015 4
Atlanta United 2017 5*
Minnesota United 2017 2
LAFC 2018 2
FC Cincinnati 2019 5
Inter Miami 2020 4*
Nashville SC 2020 2
Austin FC 2021 3*
Charlotte FC 2022 3
St. Louis City 2023 2*
San Diego FC 2025 1*

§ Permanent head coaches only; interim head coaches are not included
* Already named a new head coach for the 2025 season
† Yet to name a new head coach for the 2025 season
†† Did not participate in 2006 and 2007 seasons


Revolving doors

• New York Red Bulls

No team have burned through head coaches like Red Bulls. Not only do they lead the league with 20 hires (17 permanent, three interim), their longest-tenured head coach was Jesse Marsch (151 games), who was in charge of the club for a little more than three seasons before leaving to take an assistant job at Red Bull Leipzig: The Red Bulls higher-ups decided it was important to groom Marsch for other positions within the company than to let arguably the best head coach in club history build a legacy in New Jersey.

• CF Montréal

Does the staff at Stade Saputo bother to learn the names of CF Montréal's head coaches? Red Bulls might lead the league in most hires, but Montréal leads in shortest tenures for all but the newest clubs: The longest-serving head coach is Mauro Biello (93 games), who is the only one to make it past three seasons.

• San Jose Earthquakes

New York Red Bulls might lead the league with 17 head coaches in club history, but San Jose Earthquakes are firmly in second place with 15 — and the club didn't participate in the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Incoming head coach Bruce Arena might want to note that three of the last four head coaches were fired mid-season.

• Toronto FC

Now that John Herdman is gone, Toronto will start the 2025 season with their fifth head coach in five years — and their 12th since joining MLS in 2007. What's going on at what was once one of the league's most glamorous clubs? Greg Vanney (250 games) was head coach from 2014 to 2020, winning MLS Cup, a Supporters' Shield, and four Canadian Championships. Since then, Toronto have failed to qualify for the postseason.

• Inter Miami

Javier Mascherano will be Inter Miami's third head coach in three years, and the fourth since they joined the league in 2020.

• Atlanta United

They have yet to announce who will take over in 2025, but it will be Atlanta United's fifth head coach in nine years.

• New York City FC

Many were surprised to learn that Nick Cushing (107 games) was the club's longest-tenured head coach, but that's what you get when you make five hires in 10 years. The smooth mid-season transitions between Ronny Deila (90 games) and Cushing in 2022 and Patrick Vieira (90 games) and Domé Torrent (60 games) in 2018 papers over NYCFC's inability to find a head coach to lead the team for three full seasons. The club's overall culture might be consistent, but the head coach position is a revolving door.

• DC United

Ben Olsen (375 games) led the club from 2010 to 2020 in one of the longest-tenured runs in league history. But since then, DC United are on their third head coach in a little more than four seasons.

• St. Louis City

Bradley Carnell (62 games) didn't even make it to the end of year two. But St. Louis City is a young team, and we'll see if they made a love match with Olof Mellberg.

• Charlotte FC

Three head coaches in three years? Dean Smith (39 games) will begin his second season in charge next year.

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