Editorial

US Soccer Begins 2026 FIFA World Cup Run With No Head Coach, GM Or Sporting Director

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USA's coach #00 Gregg Berhalter and USA's forward #10 Christian Pulisic react at the end of the Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 football match between the Netherlands and USA at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on December 3, 2022. (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)

(Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Andrew Powell Sports and Entertainment Blogger
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It’s outright chaos right now with our United States Men’s Soccer program.

The U.S. Soccer Federation announced Jan. 26 that their sporting director Earnie Stewart is leaving his position and going back to the Netherlands’ PSV Eindhoven — this coming after the exit of general manager Brian McBride. With the departures, it now leaves Coach Gregg Berhalter, whose contract ran out Dec. 31, up in the air.

Both Berhalter and McBride were hired by Stewart.

The USSF has hired Sportsology, a consulting firm, to handle their search for a replacement for the sporting director position, but what’s even more interesting about this move is that the firm has been told to do a “full review of U.S. Soccer’s sporting department,” which implies that the entire management of the men’s soccer program is being evaluated, ESPN reported.

With Berhalter’s contract expired, Anthony Hudson is currently filling the role on an interim basis, and even though Berhalter “remains a candidate” to return as head coach, Sportsology will also be going over candidates for the post to speed up the hiring process, according to U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone.

Cone reportedly said that U.S. Soccer had hoped to hire a sporting director, and manager of USMNT, “by the end of the summer.” She later went back on those comments changing the deadline to “before the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.” Once a sporting director is hired, they will lead the charge on a new USMNT manager.

Holy crap! United States Men’s Soccer is in an utter state of chaos — we literally have no leadership right now.

One thing is for certain in this whole situation: Gregg Berhalter doesn’t need to be coming back as head coach. With everything that’s been going on with him and the Gio Reyna situation, and now all of this stuff going on at the top of the team’s hierarchy, it’s obvious that he’s not a good leader.

But I give it to the United States though, they tried to clean this whole mess up with a power move by trying to hire Zinedine Zidane as the head coach, it’s just a shame that it didn’t work out. My God, that would have been so glorious.

I admire the United States going straight to the top to replace Berhalter though, and this also tells me that little quote about Berhalter remaining a candidate is bullshit. The U.S. has no plans on bringing him back, they’re just playing nice, and I hope they do pull a power move just to rub the replacement in his face even more.

Just look at how good our players have been performing since being away from Berhalter’s leadership at USMNT.

Let’s start with Exhibit A: Gio Reyna

Exhibit B: Brandon Vazquez

Exhibit C: Gabriel Slonina

None of this was going on in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but just imagine if it had. This is exactly why Gregg Berhalter needs to go. He ruined our chances with a really talented team, and now here we are forced to wait another four years.

Let’s just hope the United States can pull off a Zidane-style power move at the head coaching position, because it looks like that’s what they’re attempting — and God bless ’em for it. But regardless, Berhalter CANNOT be there any longer. (RELATED: Gio Reyna, Who Was Benched By US Soccer In FIFA World Cup, Mocks Gregg Berhalter While Dominating The Sport)

We can’t go on like this, because quite frankly, I — and a lot of other Americans — want World Cup glory.

Berhalter isn’t giving us that, and never will. He needs to go, and that’s just how the cookie crumbles.