Angel City narrows coaching search to 4 candidates, sporting director says
Angel City FC has narrowed its coaching search to four candidates, sporting director Mark Parsons tells The Athletic.
'There are two options at this point — we'll have someone on March 1 or we'll have someone in June or July,' Parsons said in an interview that will air in its entirety on the 'Full Time with Meg Linehan' podcast on Feb. 27.
Advertisement
'We're down to four candidates. It's been a very detailed and thorough process, one that I'm loving and enjoying being on the other side of — getting to hear great, top-talent coaches share their vision and thoughts,' said Parsons, who previously coached the Portland Thorns and Washington Spirit in NWSL and the Netherlands' women's national team.
Angel City parted ways with previous head coach Becki Tweed in December after the team missed the 2024 playoffs, finishing 12th of 14 in the NWSL standings.
The club changed interim head coaches following Parsons' arrival, with the experienced Sam Laity stepping in on Jan. 22 in place of Eleri Earnshaw, who remains with the club in an assistant capacity. Laity previously served as the head coach of the Houston Dash but is mostly known for his time with the Seattle Reign as an assistant coach under Laura Harvey.
Parsons said he expects the club to provide an update by the first of the month.
'The team is in a good place, where we are happy with the progression of the team. Of course, we're only approaching (the) halfway (mark) of preseason. There's a lot of work to do,' Parsons said, citing the performance and structure of the technical staff already in place. 'It gives us calmness to get the right person and not to rush the process.'
Parsons has overseen the coaching hiring process since he joined Angel City last month as the club's sporting director following the departure of general manager Angela Hucles. Hucles parted ways with the club in December, two months after the NWSL fined the organization for salary cap violations earlier last season, including a $200,000 fine and a three-point deduction from its 2024 standings for violations of league rules in the 2023 season that resulted in the club exceeding the salary cap in 2024. Hucles, along with club president Julie Uhrman, were suspended from all player transaction duties.
Last month, Parsons told The Athletic he was reluctant to put a timeline on the head coach search, especially as he was stressing leadership and culture qualities to candidates as much as the soccer and data parts of the process.
While Parsons has confidence in the current staff, the start of the season is less than a month away. Angel City's preference is for the club to have clarity heading into the 2025 season.
Advertisement
'Out of the four, I think one is available now and three available in June (or) July, so the odds are looking towards that,' Parsons said. This could mean that three candidates are on the fall-spring schedule for their respective clubs as opposed to the NWSL's current calendar.
If Angel City is forced to wait, they wouldn't be the first NWSL club to make the coaching swap following the conclusion of another league's season — it worked to great effect last year with the Washington Spirit and former Barcelona head coach Jonatan Giráldez.
'We're just excited to be able to do this properly and get this right,' he said, 'and make sure we bring in someone who's going to complement the qualities of our players and staff — and most importantly, take us to a place that we've never been.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
36 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Spirit reaches summer hiatus with scoreless draw against San Diego
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Wave dominated possession but couldn't break through in a scoreless draw with the Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League on Sunday night. The Wave (7-3-3) has dropped only one of its last five matches. San Diego's 24 points are the most the team has had through the first 13 games in club history.
Washington Post
36 minutes ago
- Washington Post
The Wave dominates but plays to 0-0 tie with the Washington Spirit
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Wave dominated possession but couldn't break through in a scoreless draw with the Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League on Sunday night. The Wave (7-3-3) have dropped only one of their last five matches. San Diego's 24 points are the most they've had through the first 13 games in club history.
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
The Wave dominates but plays to 0-0 tie with the Washington Spirit
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Wave dominated possession but couldn't break through in a scoreless draw with the Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League on Sunday night. The Wave (7-3-3) have dropped only one of their last five matches. San Diego's 24 points are the most they've had through the first 13 games in club history. The match was the last before the NWSL goes on its summer hiatus. The league resumes play on Aug. 1. Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury kept her team in the game with six saves. The Wave had the ball more than 65% of the match and made 16 shots, including six on target. It was the fourth straight draw between the two teams. The Spirit (7-4-2) had won their first five road matches this season before falling 2-0 at Portland last weekend. Spirit coach Jonatan Giraldez did not travel with the team to San Diego because his partner Olaia is expecting the couple's second child. Assistant Adrian Gonzalez took his place. ___ AP soccer:
