PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The MLS' Philadelphia Union have fired coach Jim Curtin after 11 seasons with the club.
The team announced Curtain's dismissal Thursday and said it had begun the search for a replacement. The Union's statement said details about an interim coaching staff will be announced in the “coming days.”
Union owner Jay Sugarman wished Curtin well and called him a “remarkable leader and an integral part of our team's success during his tenure.”
Curtin was hired in 2014. He had a record-setting 2022 season as the Union reached their first MLS Cup final with their most wins (19), most goals scored (72) and fewest goals allowed (26).
Curtin was twice named MLS coach of the year in 2020 and 2022, both times finishing first in the league's Eastern Conference. But the Union won just nine games this season and fell to 12th in the East and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Philadelphia became the eighth of the 29 teams to change coaches since the start of the 2024 season following Nashville’s Gary Smith (May 16), Atlanta’s Gonzalo Pineda (June 3), Dallas’ Nico Estévez (June 9), San Jose’s Luchi Gonzalez (June 24), St. Louis’ Bradley Carnell (July 1), Austin’s Josh Wolff (Oct. 6) and Chicago's Frank Klopas (Oct. 19).
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The Associated Press
