interim for now, but yea, unless the team somehow truly bombs this year... it has kind of felt like Nahas' team for a couple of seasons now.
I have to believe he’s turned down big job offers waiting for this opportunity… Wonder if they’ll name him temporary or permanent
Nahas is going to be the front runner, but Ang Kelly (Texas) and Tiff (UCF) both played at UNC so could they go a different direction. Duke named Hall the head coach after Church said he was retiring, but Nahas didn't get the same love from UNC.
Different circumstances and the timing probably plays a role here. Interim role is exactly what you would expect for Nahas.
The timing only makes sense if he wants Nahas to have a chance. If he has like a 4-loss season and has a great post-season run and theres not a notable player exodus, like last year, you have to give it to him. Otherwise, those alum mentioned, and some others, would def be interested. unless theres some personal circumstance we don't know yet. ofcourse AD is a legend that changed college soccer and women's sports. That cannot be overstated, imho.
Yes that is what has happened. Nahas will be coaching the team this season, and there will be a wide search to name a new coach for the following season. Anson himself said: "I realized I didn't have the same energy it takes to give 100% to this year's team. The players and staff, the university, Carolina athletics and our great fans deserve more, and the respect I have for the amazing legacy the current and former players have built led me to make this decision at this time."
There are rumors out there about the direction UNC may be going with replacing Anson. Not surprised Damon is interim. Maybe they're giving him a chance to prove himself.
Not to be cynical, but perhaps Dorrance saw this squad was going to be weak after the mass departures and thought it would be easier to retire than face scrutiny after a tough season?
Prince Akeem Joffer is a writer for Tomahawk nation and is tremendously detailed with his women's soccer coverage.. He had this to say about AD. "Anson Dorrance is retiring from UNC after 47 years as head coach effective immediately. Assistant Damon Nahas will be named the interim head coach. UNC went through a significant amount of upheaval over the summer seeing a number of players leave early for the pros or transfer. It is a bit odd to see Dorrance retire so close to the season. I really hope that this is not a medically related decision. In any case, Dorrance's position in soccer history is secure. He has led UNC to 22 national championships which is far and away the most of any team in soccer history. His teams also played in six other national championship games, finished first or tied for first in the ACC regular season 25 times and captured 22 of 32 ACC Tournaments. I may be able to touch on how this affects the ACC in the upcoming season preview but Dorrance's retirement marks the end of a long and successful chapter in the history of women's soccer. We wish him the best and thank him for his many contributions to the sport."
Guessing just the opposite. Considering Dorrance’s competitive nature, the urge to stay on and prove he’s still got it may have been the hardest thing to overcome in deciding to retire. Tend to take him at his word, that like Dean Smith and Roy Williams he assessed his inner fire as the new season was coming up, decided it just wasn’t there any more. Good to see someone make a sensible choice, not stubbornly hang on. And, as with all older coaches these days, you have to wonder how much of a factor the new NIL/transfer portal played into the decision.
I get there are a lot of big names out there that UNC might want to go out and get, but I think people are underestimating Damon Nahas.
Supposedly…this was the plan for a while. Announcing now was an effort to keep players in place / out of the portal and ensure Damon gets his opportunity at UNC. Second hand info, so take it for what it’s worth.
I take Anson at his word on this, having stopped coaching myself when I felt I had aged out energy-wise. I simply did not have it in me to continue coaching the way I wanted to and did not want to lower my standards for myself and then retire. I have wondered for a while how long he would be able to keep going and felt he must be getting very close to the end. As we all can see from current events, it is very hard to step down when you have aged out. Credit to him for doing it.
The timing is odd---days before the start of the season?---even if he had in mind making sure his longtime assistant got the interim job. I mean, he could have resigned a month ago and Nahas would surely have been asked to take over, no? You're not hiring a new coach two weeks before fall training camp starts.
You have to wonder what kind of negotiation or discussions have taken place with the current admin there and that was likely a factor but..... it's no surprise to think he was going to wait for the preseason and see how much he loved this new team and loved going out every day to train them to decide on the timing... I'm sure he thought about announcing now but finishing the season like Church. Frankly, it would have been kinda cool to get the farewell tour that Church will get but I could also see deciding against that too. The timing also gets all this commentary out of the way before the real games begin. Putting names out is premature, imho, at least on this thread. Lets see how the season goes as I commented earlier. Nahas is getting a full season trial for sure.
or maybe we try not to look too much into and take his word that he gave this season a go and realized a few weeks and a couple exhibitions into it that there was no way he could keep up with everything.
The singular quality of Dorrance cannot be replicated. He not only made UNC a Mecca for quality athletes, but his generosity to his fellow coaches of any school helped to make women's college soccer a big time sport nationally and internationally. But for me -- and this echoes Dean Smith -- his consistent postgame congratulations to his opponents and their coaches (and insistence on his team's core values) modeled true sportsmanship especially to players. He treated winning and losing-- those two imposters-- just the same. As we know so well, he led one of the great athletic programs in history.
Anyone want to speculate on how Bubba positioned things to Damon behind closed doors? “If you do well it’s yours”, or “we’re going to do a nationwide search but you’ll still have an opportunity”
Not a UNC fan, but why would any UNC fan want DN to be the next coach? There has been a notable change since his arrival and none of the those changes seems to be for the better. There are all sorts of rumors or divides in the staff, alumni... It is the best women's college soccer job in the country. Wouldn't the athletics dept be committed to going and getting a top coach? If UNC holds to form, they will hire someone with ties to the program but is there a natural replacement?
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