The first sacking of the year is in the books, as Nashville SC parted ways with longtime manager Gary Smith last week after seven seasons with the club. The Eastern Conference side have struggled in 2024, and their front office deemed it was time for change.
However, Smith wasn’t – and isn’t – the only coach in hot water in 2024. A handful of MLS sides are actively underperforming, despite having the talent on their roster to compete in their respective conferences.
Atlanta United, the New England Revolution, CF Montreal, Portland Timbers and the Chicago Fire are all in similar situations.
Nashville were the first MLS team to move on from their manager, could others follow suit?
GOAL digs in…
.jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1)
Caleb Porter | New England Revolution
Oh man. Where do we even start here?
Caleb Porter is a very good coach who is doing a very bad job at managing the New England Revolution. Both of those things can be true.
Right now, though, things are truly a disaster. The Revs are bottom of MLS with seven points through 12 matches, the worst goal-differential in the league and an absolutely dysfunctional locker room.
At the conclusion of matchday 15, a 3-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union, there was reportedly chaos. Tommy Quinlan of the New England Soccer Weekly radio show reported that Team owner Jonathan Kraft was snubbed by Porter postgame and that in the locker room, players and coaches were arguing after the match.
Revs defender Ryan Spaulding was sent off for a straight red card offense early in the match, and Porter reportedly confronted him postgame about it – and then feuded with defender Nick Lima in the tunnel after the final whistle,as well.
Porter allegedly shouted “Don’t ever disregard my f*cking handshake again,” at Lima – who avoided shaking hands with his boss after being subbed off.
To add to it, Porter even snapped at media member Sam Minton postgame, who posted the exchange on X.
Things aren’t going well for the two-time MLS Cup champion in the northeast.
.jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1)
Gonzalo Pineda | Atlanta United
There are expectations with an organization like Atlanta United. Heck, you have a World Cup-winning midfielder on your roster who has been linked with some of the best clubs in the world in Thiago Almada.
Yet, somehow, Atlanta sits 12th in the Eastern Conference on just 13 points. Winless in eight-straight league matches, they’re in freefall.
Gonzalo Pineda is struggling to make anything work, and the 2018 MLS Cup winners look like a team that can’t even compete for a fringe playoff spot. Poor showings against fellow struggling sides Nashville SC and the Chicago Fire in recent weeks won’t help Pineda’s case, either.
There is too much talent on this Atlanta side for them to be playing the way they are, and if things don’t change soon, Pineda could be on his way out.
.jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1)
Frank Klopas | Chicago Fire
Nobody wants to see Frank Klopas fail as the manager of the Fire. A club legend, a true stalwart of professional soccer in Chicago, he’s been a longtime servant for the Fire organization.
But it has to be said: the Fire are bad – like, really not good.
They’re on 10 points through 14 matches with a -13 goal-differential. and this comes despite investing $12m in DP striker Hugo Cuypers and securing the signature of coveted free agent Kellyn Acosta in the offseason.
Mind you, it’s an attack with USYNT budding star Brian Gutierrez and 2x UEFA Champions League winner Xherdan Shaqiri.
Simply put, Klopas is out of his depth and the Fire project is one that is too big of a hurdle for him. Handing him the full-time reigns after taking over as interim manager in 2023 appears to have been a mistake.
Phil Neville | Portland Timbers
Neville joined the Timbers in 2024 after being sacked in June 2023 by Inter Miami. The Englishman struggled to keep the Herons afloat prior to Lionel Messi’s arrival, and was removed as a result.
In Portland, the same struggles have arrived under Neville. Leaky defense, inconsistent attacking and more than anything… no sign of progress.
In Neville’s defense, the Timbers are only 14 matches into the season; a case can be made that it’s harsh to hold a lot of the blame onto him. At the same time, though, they are not improving under his leadership.
He seems to be losing traction within the organization, too. In their lone victory since March 9, a 4-2 comeback win over 10-man San Jose Earthquakes on May 15, an Apple TV hot mic caught a Timbers radio broadcaster caught the host saying “you want to come coach this team? You want to come coach this team? Can’t be any worse,” as they went into halftime of the match down 2-0.
Portland announcers are absolutely cooked this is absolutely insane audio 😭 pic.twitter.com/oSTtsYeuaw
— Devon (@DevBo_8) May 16, 2024
The Timbers sit 11th in the Western Conference, averaging less than one point per game. They have a -3 goal differential with just three wins on the season.
.jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1)
Laurent Courtois | CF Montreal
More than anyone, it feels harsh to put Courtois on this list simply due to the fact that CF MTL are a dumpster fire at the moment. Sporting Director Olivier Renard left his post just over a week ago, and in his departing press conference, contradicted what the club’s CEO said regarding his decision to leave.
Nobody seems to be on the same page, and their results are stagnating as a result.
Courtois, meanwhile, is a middle man in his first senior job at the MLS level. He led the Columbus Crew’s MLS NEXT Pro team to an inaugural title in 2022 and to another final in 2023; proving he’s a championship caliber coach.
However, the results aren’t going well.
They sit 13th in the Eastern Conference on 12 points from 13 games played with a -14 goal-differential. Their defense has been nothing but shambolic and their winless in six-straight matches.
Courtois’ leash appears to be longer than others, but at the same time, if CF MTL’s front-office can’t figure out how to operate, how much blame can you put on the manager?
