Union Fire Jim Curtin

The Union parted ways with their coach of 10 years on Thursday.

The Philadelphia Union have fired manager Jim Curtin.

The announcement came on Thursday morning with statements from both owner Jay Sugarman and sporting director Ernst Tanner offering their thanks to what Curtin brought to the organization.

“Jim has been a remarkable leader and an integral part of our team’s success during his tenure,” Sugarman said. “I have had the privilege to watch him grow into one of the top coaches in the league and deliver strong results and memorable moments that will be ingrained in our club’s history. This has been a difficult decision due in part to the immense gratitude and respect we have for him. We have no doubt he’ll find great success in his future coaching endeavors.”

“We want to extend our heartfelt appreciation to Jim for his passion and dedication to this club over the last ten seasons. He greatly contributed to the success the club has achieved in recent years and for that we are extremely grateful,” Tanner said. “We thank Jim for the significant impact he made both on the field and in the community. Following the 2024 season we recognize the need for change. We'll continue to evaluate our sporting strategy and make necessary changes this offseason to best set the team up for success.”

It is unquestionably an unpopular move within the fan base.

Curtin was widely praised for the achievements he hit with the squad despite having one of the lowest payrolls in Major League Soccer.

Curtin expressed his frustration with the situation on multiple occasions in press conferences in many discreet ways.

Ultimately, the outward criticism and the loyalty to some of the older players in the squad were among the reasons why ownership went in this direction.

There was not universal agreement within the organization that running it back with the same core from 2023 was the right strategy.

For example, there was push back within the club about re-signing Alejandro Bedoya last offseason. A strong push from Curtin and the Union players helped get that move across the line.

However, there were other moves that weren’t made that left Curtin frustrated, including the push for former Union goalkeeper John McCarthy to be signed as a backup this past offseason. Instead, the club went a cheaper route to sign Oliver Semmle from the USL Championship.

The undying loyalty to Bedoya, Jakob Glesnes and others despite the club’s rough form also frustrated those in the ownership group. The counter to that is more spending could have happened in the offseason to bring in better players, but there were some people who wanted Curtin to give more chances to younger players.

Other comments made over the last few seasons rubbed certain parts of the ownership group the wrong way was well.

When Curtin’s good friend Jesse Marsch was in the running for the United States men’s national team job, he mentioned multiple times that he’d be more than willing to take an assistant’s role on Marsch’s potential staff if he was hired. I was told by a source those specific comments frustrated some members of the ownership group who wanted Curtin’s priorities to be the Union job and just that. In Curtin’s defense, he stated multiple times during that time period that his full focus was on the Union and he was flattered just to be mentioned in those conversations.

Curtin will not be unemployed for long. He’s regarded as one of the top American coaches in MLS and it will be fascinating to see what he does at a club with more investment compared to the Union.

The best comparison to anything else we’ve seen in Philadelphia sports is Andy Reid’s departure from the Philadelphia Eagles.

Reid produced a ton of success with the Eagles, but at the time of his departure, it felt like it was best for all parties. I get the similar vibe to that situation from talking to some people who described the internal situation at the club.

The hiring process to replace Curtin will be led by Tanner and I would not expect anyone within the organization to get the job. There is no MLS head coaching experience among the current assistants.

If I had to guess, Tanner will target someone from the RB Salzburg or Hoffenheim coaching trees that he’s familiar with. I would think other coaches with MLS experience will be considered as well.

Knowing the club and how it is structured, success in youth development will be a key quality in the next head coach, whomever it may be.

Tanner and Sugarman are scheduled to talk to reporters on Monday morning. More information will come from that press conference regarding the coaching search and the team’s offseason direction.