Houston Dynamo FC have parted ways with head coach Tab Ramos, the club announced Thursday. Ramos departs a day after Houston's 2021 season ended with a 2-0 defeat at CF Montréal that saw them finish with a 6W-16L-12D record to place bottom of the Western Conference.
Ramos' contract was up at the end of the 2021 season and the club have decided not to extend it. Additionally, the club will not extend the contracts of assistant coaches Omid Namazi and Martin Vazquez.
The moves come days after Pat Onstad was appointed as general manager and four months after Ted Segal took the reins as the club's new majority owner.
“I want to thank Tab for everything he has done for this club over the last two years, on and off the pitch,” Onstad said in a team release. “In the short time that I have been here, it was apparent that he has made a tremendous positive impact on the culture of our team and has helped make Houston a more appealing destination for players within MLS and abroad. There is a strong foundation here and we are grateful to Tab for that.”
Ramos, a legendary US men's national team midfielder as a player and coach of the US U-20 team for eight years, took charge of the Dynamo ahead of the 2020 campaign. However, the team missed the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in both his seasons in charge, finishing bottom of the West in both years and ending with a combined record in MLS play of 10W-26L-21D.
The Dynamo, who have made the playoffs just once since 2014, will begin their search for a new head coach immediately.
Ramos' departure figures to be just the first in a long list of changes for the Dynamo this offseason. New owner Segal has promised to increase investment in the roster, with Onstad telling MLSsoccer.com's Tom Bogert this week that there is plenty of room for improvement.
“Number one is to get better on the field," Onstad said. "We have some core guys who are very good, but we’re missing some top-end talent and difference-makers. Those pieces who can turn games. In our league, it’s pretty close. It’s those players who make differences.”
