Toronto FC have parted ways with head coach and sporting director Bob Bradley, the club announced Monday morning. Additionally, assistant coach and technical director Mike Sorber has been relieved of his duties.
Terry Dunfield has been appointed interim head coach of TFC after serving as head coach of the club’s U-17 academy team.
The changes come with Toronto sitting 14th in the Eastern Conference table, holding a 3W-7L-10D record through Matchday 21. The Reds are seven points back of the East’s ninth and final Audi MLS Cup Playoffs spot.
“Bob has been a consummate professional with Toronto FC and we thank him for his passion and tireless work during his time here,” TFC president Bill Manning said in a release. “We are all disappointed that we were not able to achieve the results we expected.”
Bradley at TFC
Bradley, 65, initially joined Toronto ahead of the 2022 MLS season and departs with a 14W-26L-19D record at the club. Before going to Toronto, Bradley spent four years in charge of LAFC as they entered MLS as an expansion team in 2018. He is third all-time in MLS head coaching wins (194).
Bradley, among the most accomplished American coaches of all time, transformed Toronto’s roster across several transfer windows. The Reds most notably acquired Italian national team forwards Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi last summer, but results haven’t turned around as they continue to chase their MLS Cup 2017-winning glory days and first Audi MLS Cup Playoffs appearance since 2020.
The biggest critique of Toronto’s roster has been its top-heavy nature, whereby injuries to their veteran core have had a pronounced effect on results. The Reds, per the latest MLS Players Association salaries guide, are among the league’s highest spenders with both Insigne and Bernadeschi cracking the top five in overall compensation.
During Bradley’s time at the club, forwards Yeferson Soteldo and Jozy Altidore, midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo and defender Carlos Salcedo were all departing DPs. In their wake, aside from Insigne and Bernardeschi, key additions have included retaining midfielder Jonathan Osorio, bringing defender Richie Laryea back on loan, trading for midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye and signing both goalkeeper Sean Johnson and Matt Hedges in free agency.
Big picture
Toronto have searched for stability since Greg Vanney departed to lead the LA Galaxy after the 2020 MLS season. They hired Chris Armas in 2021 and quickly dismissed him amid lackluster results, then decided not to continue with Javier Perez after he saw out that campaign.
Though Bradley struggled to find success at Toronto, he arrived as a three-time Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year winner and former US men's national team coach who led the program’s 2010 World Cup appearance. With LAFC, he led the club to a then-MLS record points haul upon winning the Supporters' Shield in 2019 before guiding them to the Concacaf Champions League final in 2020.
Bradley was an assistant with D.C. United during the league's first two years before taking charge of Chicago Fire FC in 1998. He also was manager of the New York Red Bulls and Chivas USA before being named USMNT head coach in 2006. Overseas, he led Egypt’s national team, Norwegian side Stabæk and French side Le Havre – all before becoming the first American to manage a Premier League team in 2016 when he briefly led Swansea City.
Dunfield, Bradley's interim successor, brings more than 20 years of professional soccer experience, including time spent as a player in England with Shrewsbury Town and in MLS with both Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
