The United States men’s national team, already without a permanent coach, was thrown into further turmoil on Thursday as the federation’s athletic director and national team general manager resigned.
Sporting director Earnie Stewart is leaving to join Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and general manager Brian McBride has resigned from his post, US Soccer has said.
National team coach Gregg Berhalter, who guided the team to December’s World Cup round of 16 in Qatar, is out of contract, no longer working with the team and his future remains uncertain.
Berhalter is facing a federation investigation for a domestic violence incident in 1991.
The incident came to light following the controversy surrounding Berhalter’s strained relationship with Borussia Dortmund player Gio Reyna at the World Cup in Qatar.
American Football President Cindy Parlow Cone told an online press conference that they have now hired a consulting firm to begin a comprehensive review of the organization’s athletic department.
With vacancies in three top positions, Parlow Cone said they would take their time to wrap up various reviews and make the new appointments.
“We’re not going to rush it,” she said.
“I know this moment is a bit uncertain for you in the media, for our staff, for the players. What it actually is is a clean canvas,” she added.
US Soccer CEO JT Batson said the Berhalter saga had no impact on Stewart and McBride’s decisions to leave the organization.
The United States, along with Mexico and Canada, will host the World Cup in 2026, but rather than begin to build on the progress made by the promising young squad, the federation must now find key personnel and deal with the fallout. from the Berhalter-Line Reyna.
Parlow Cone, who has said she would like a new head coach in place “by the end of the summer”, said the departures have allowed the federation to assess its direction.
– World Cup conflict –
“We didn’t plan it that way but we find ourselves in this position and we’re going to take the opportunity to really take a deep dive into our sporting side to make sure we’re as effective and efficient as possible. because we have a big vision of what we want to do sportingly and we want to make sure we are in the best position to achieve those goals,” she said.
The consultancy, Sportsology Group, will assist in the search for a new sporting director and provide a broader review.
Once appointed, a new sporting director will then hire the team’s next head coach, although Sportsology will help analyze possible candidates in advance.
Stewart will remain in his post until February 15 and, in a statement released by the federation, he said he had full confidence in the organization.
“When the opportunity presented itself to return to the Netherlands to pursue an exciting and challenging role close to my family, I couldn’t turn it down,” said Stewart.
“I am extremely proud of what our athletic department has accomplished over the past four years. This is a pivotal time for sports in the United States and I have full confidence in the leadership of American football heading into 2026. and beyond,” he said. .
The dispute between Berhalter and Reyna took a dark turn in early January after US Soccer announced it had opened an investigation into decades-old domestic violence allegations by Berhalter.
Berhalter admitted in a statement on Twitter to kicking the woman he would later marry during an argument in 1991.
Later it emerged that US Soccer had been alerted to the incident by Gio Reyna’s family. Father Claudio Reyna is a former U.S. captain and Berhalter teammate, while his wife Danielle was a college football teammate to Berhalter’s wife Rosalind.
Later on Thursday, Claudio Reyna announced he was stepping down as technical director at Major League soccer club Austin FC. Reyna will take on an advisory role and said he was looking for “a less consuming role”.
Team USA, currently coached by Anthony Hudson on an interim basis, lost 2-1 on Wednesday in a friendly against Serbia in which both countries were under-manuald.
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