Matchday

MLS coach carousel: Every change in 2024

24-Coaching-carousel-5

During the 2024 MLS season, seven clubs made coaching changes.

Sorted in chronological order, this tracker details all the comings and goings.

  • Departing coach: Frank Klopas (October 19)
  • Interim coach: N/A
  • Incoming coach: Gregg Berhalter (October 8)

During the October international break, Chicago named former Columbus Crew and USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter as director of football and head coach. Berhalter is charged with resurrecting a club that last made the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in 2017.

Frank Klopas stepped down as head coach after their 2024 season and transitioned to a new role as vice president of football.

  • Departing coach: Josh Wolff (October 6)
  • Interim coach: N/A
  • Incoming coach: Nico Estévez (October 25)

Austin FC parted ways with head coach Josh Wolff after a second-straight playoff-less season.

Wolff, who led the Verde & Black since they joined MLS as a 2021 expansion team, accumulated a 45W-60L-30D record across four seasons and reached the 2022 Western Conference Final.

Less than three weeks later, Austin appointed Nico Estévez as their second-ever head coach. Estévez, four-and-a-half months removed from leading rival club FC Dallas, will take over for 2025.

  • Departing coach: Bradley Carnell (July 1)
  • Interim coach: John Hackworth
  • Incoming coach: TBD

St. Louis CITY SC parted ways with head coach Bradley Carnell amid a nine-game winless streak that dropped them to 12th in the Western Conference standings.

That contrasted starkly with St. Louis' historic 2023 expansion season, in which they earned the No. 1 seed in the West. CITY SC finished one point short of LAFC's record-setting haul of 57 points (set in 2018).

Technical director John Hackworth took over on an interim basis with 14 games remaining, but St. Louis' quest to get back into the postseason picture fell short.

  • Departing coach: Luchi Gonzalez (June 24)
  • Interim coach: Ian Russell
  • Incoming coach: TBD

The San Jose Earthquakes parted ways with head coach Luchi Gonzalez as they sat last in the Western Conference and overall MLS standings.

Gonzalez took over San Jose for the 2023 season and led them to the Wild Card round in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. Before leading the Quakes, he coached FC Dallas (2018-21) and was a US men's national team assistant to Gregg Berhalter.

In his second interim stint with San Jose, longtime assistant coach Ian Russell couldn't avoid a Wooden Spoon finish.

  • Departing coach: Nico Estévez (June 9)
  • Interim coach: Peter Luccin
  • Incoming coach: TBD

FC Dallas parted ways with head coach Nico Estévez just before the halfway point of their 2024 season. The club was 13th in the Western Conference (14 points; 3W-8L-5D) and carrying a five-match winless streak.

Estevez, a former US men’s national team assistant, went 28W-27L-28D during his two-and-a-half seasons at the helm of FC Dallas. The Spaniard reached the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in 2022 and 2023, as well as the Leagues Cup knockout stage last year.

Assistant coach Peter Luccin, a first-team assistant coach since January 2019, took over as interim coach while the search for a full-time replacement unfolds. Ultimately, Dallas finished 11th.

  • Departing coach: Gonzalo Pineda (June 3)
  • Interim coach: Rob Valentino
  • Incoming coach: TBD

After a fifth straight defeat at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta United parted ways with Gonzalo Pineda – their longest-serving coach since entering MLS in 2017. The club was 13th in the Eastern Conference standings, falling short of lofty expectations with a roster led by Thiago Almada and Giorgos Giakoumakis.

Pineda joined Atlanta in August 2021 as a first-time manager after being an assistant coach for Seattle Sounders FC. He went 38W-40L-29D across all competitions, qualifying for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in two of three seasons.

Rob Valentino is overseeing his second stint as interim head coach. He previously held the role during 2021.

  • Departing coach: Gary Smith (May 16)
  • Interim coach: Rumba Munthali
  • Incoming coach: B.J. Callaghan (July 3)

Nashville SC hit the reset button in mid-May, parting ways with Gary Smith. The Englishman was Nashville's only head coach since joining MLS in 2020, steering the club to four straight Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and the 2023 Leagues Cup final.

USMNT assistant B.J. Callaghan, who guided the Yanks to the 2023 Concacaf Nations League title as interim manager, was named Smith's official replacement in early July. Beforehand, Rumba Munthali served as interim coach.