Utah has hired ARod as their new manager. She's been the assistant coach at USC for the past two years.
https://equalizersoccer.com/2023/06/14/freya-coombe-fired-angel-city-fc-head-coach/ Angel City FC fires Freya Coombe in mid-season. Who potentially replaces her?
Good question... With their diverse and connected ownership group, they probably have a lot of options. Would love to see a former player step up. If Angel City is ambitious, though, maybe they try to nab a WWC coach once the tournament is over (and go with an interim coach meantime)?
I wonder how desirable an NWSL coaching job is relative to Youth or College? would Emma Hayes consider this job?
Probably highly depends on what a person values... In terms of pure money, NWSL coaching gigs are surely more lucrative than either of those others In terms of stability, NWSL clearly trails the other two In terms of challenge level, that definitely scales with the player pool age In terms of pressure, it's an odd mix, because you'd think that scales with age and money... but I sure as hell wouldn't want to deal with the overbearing parents of youth players (or college parents, to a lesser degree)
I'm surprised you think the NWSL pays more than the top College/Youth jobs. The top College jobs would be equivalent to GM status. Look at Mark Krikorian. NWSL coaching is going through a much-needed cleansing process, and i think its more about personnel management than Xs and O's. I cant imagine those jobs being attractive to someone who really wants to work with players and teach/develop them. I wonder why Coombe got fired?
I disagree. A few years ago. Sure. But Casey Stoney, Juan Carlos, etc are surely getting paid well. Also, Petruccelli left a Top 20 college program to go to NWSL. With the growth of the NWSL, clubs will pay for the right coach. Coombe struggled. Yes, she had bad luck with injuries for sure. But in her last press conference she was asked about her job status. She essentially threw the players under the bus with 'all we can do is put them in the right positions/system and it is up to them to execute it'. Similar response when asked about defending set pieces. I knew her time was limited then. Also, if you watch the Angel City behind the scenes documentary, I am not surprised she is gone. No red flag, just a feeling that she was not necessarily the easiest to work with. But then again, most of us are not when things are not going well.
I do not know about her, but I have some sympathy for LA. Against the Thorns, in end of game stoppage time with LA ahead by a goal, Thorns GK Bixby, on a Thorns corner, has gone forward into the box and backwards kicks the ball into the goal for a tie. Next time against the Thorns with the score tied, in end of game stoppage time, Weaver backwards kicks the ball into the goal for a Thorns win. One game like that is brutal. Two ....
yrts basically said what I think. If you asked 5yrs ago, I'd say it was a toss-up. But unless an NWSL club is cheaping out on their coach, then these days I'm pretty sure they're now above what nearly all NCAA jobs would pay, maybe well above. Remember, we're talking about WoSo coaching positions, not men's football or basketball; WoSo is not making bank in the NCAA. With the explosion of NWSL finances recently, from sponsorships to player salaries to expansion fees, those coaching salaries should be pretty damn high by now as well.
Have you looked at Freya Coombes coaching resume? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freya_Coombe What experience did she have to justify a big paycheck? The coaches I mentioned, and a few more, would be taking a big step down to be just a coach in the NWSL. Krikorian was not interested in being a coach in the NWSL. The ones who combine coach/gm are probably comparable to the top NCAA coaches. The just coaches, no way.
Chris Petrucelli has been let go in Chicago - new ownership wants a new direction (and I'm sure the 6-3 loss to KC didn't help). Assistant coach (and former player) Ella Masar will lead the Red Stars in their final game of the season against the Reign.
He seemed like a likable guy - more importantly, how do the players feel about it - just curious. As stated, new ownership, new direction. 2024 will be interesting for CRS (and the league)! Go Ella!
And now Parsons is out as Spirit head coach. Seems like a bit of a rash knee-jerk decision IMO. The team was miles better this year with fairly little roster turnover.
Oh wow! I did not see this coming. I never thought that being head coach of the Spirit would be a good job because you have Mark K looking over your shoulder every day. I like Mark so that is not a dig at him. It is just the reality of the situation with his coaching pedigree.
Bjorkegren is out from LOU. There are now five coaching vacancies in NSWL, including LA (Tweed is interim) but not including BOS.
Make that four; LA have officially hired Tweed as head coach. Easiest and most obvious hire of the open positions. In other news, Laura Harvey is one of the three coaches on USSF's shortlist to take over the USWNT, so watch for how that develops. (The other two candidates are Tony Gustavsson, currently with AUS WNT, and Joe Montemurro, currently with Juventus women)
Alright, time for a coaching update (with very little carousel!) --Jonatan Grialdez (of Barca!) is rumored to be the incoming Spirit coach, though only once Barca's season is over. TBD what the Spirit do for the first half of the their 2024 season. --Sarah Lowdon was in consideration for Dash head coach, but the organization passed over her again, so instead of staying on as assistant again she's now fully left the club. --The Dash seem to have landed on Fran Alonso, who currently coaches Celtic FC in Scotland. Still to be fully confirmed. --Lorne Donaldson (previously coach of Jamaica WNT) has been hired by the Chicago Red Stars
WTAF SD just let go of Stoney https://sandiegowavefc.com/san-diego-wave-fc-parts-ways-with-head-coach-casey-stoney/
When you look at the roster, it definitely feels like SD should be getting more good chances as well as goals. Not sure how much of that rests on the coach (injuries have played a minor role), but I assumed they at least would give her the whole year to right the ship. Stoney led them to the best record last year and made it to the semis of the playoffs, you think that would be worth something...
Stoney publicly lit into the NWSL about their scheduling, blaming it for some of the San Diego recent poor performance. I bet that did not help, if the club was having some doubts about her. The last person I remember really dissing the NWSL was a guy named ....
So.... Our relaunch has been going..... not great! ARod was not given an amazing cast of players. Last time, we had 3-4 USWNT players that came from Kansas' temporarily-folded franchise. This time, it has been..... difficult. ARod is a great personality, but I worry that, beyond the undeniable fact that she isn't getting the support and players needed to make this work, that she might not be successful here? Our MLS team languished for a decade until new ownership came in, but even then it took a couple of years, a complete assistant coach turnover and one amazing signing to really turn things around. Will our ownership right the ship? Will they find a good assistant staff to help ARod succeed? Will they invest in actual talent? I'm a bit worried that the owners let the hype steam dissipate by not spending a bit more to get the talent needed to actually win home games. Instead, the team has been really hard to watch. Lots of negative passing, little exciting and dynamic attacking, and really error-prone. I think the coach knows she doesn't have the talent to compete, so is playing it really conservatively. But, despite the fact that I was more excited for the Royals this year than RSL to start, I've only been to a couple of their games, yet most of RSL's home games. And I was there for RSL's absolutely dismal beginnings, yet at least managed to be more entertained. Could also be that I'm 20 years older and way more boring myself?
only saw the highlights of Orlando/Utah, but it seemed to me A-Rod was only using 3 defenders(1 CB, 2 FB’s) in hopes of controlling the mid as well as more firepower upfront. The 2 FB’s had the license to move up as well—making it harder to backtrack into an off-sides trap/3-backNC Courage also uses similar tactics, but albeit, got stronger personnel). So A-Rod definitely displaying as an adventurous coach, but in this last case, not just futile but a disaster as well, especially since she was facing arguably the most dangerous attacker in woso in Banda(her coaching scouts/staff should of figured that out by now & make the necessary defensive adjustments) I can see where A-Rod’s bosses will give her extra time to build up her youthful squad, but obviously not happy with that 0-6 blowout
And Amy Rodriguez is out. Color me flummoxed. Some obstinate tactical approaches give the limitations of the roster, but the roster was sure as heck limited.