U.S. Soccer’s very busy 2023 is showing no signs of slowing down, with a U.S. women’s national team head coach now the federation’s top priority.
That hunt is ongoing, with U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker saying that interim head coach Twila Kilgore — who on Tuesday named her first squad ahead of a pair of upcoming friendlies against South Africa — would remain in her post for October’s set of contests against Colombia.
Speaking on TNT’s post-game show following the U.S. men’s national team’s 4-0 thumping of Oman, Crocker said that he’d be right back at work pursuing Vlatko Andonovski’s successor on Wednesday.
“I fly out tomorrow morning back to Chicago at 6 a.m., and we’re straight back into the search for the women’s head coach’s role,” said Crocker. “My job at the moment is split 50/50. So obviously, the men’s head coach hire was really important, and a key part of the job to start with, and now obviously, my focus turns to the to the women’s [team] and the women’s head coach search, and obviously helping Twila and the staff prepare for their event, which is just around the corner in Cincinnati.”
U.S. Soccer targets December USWNT hire
Asked for a timeline on U.S. Soccer’s pursuit of a coach, Crocker revealed that Kilgore and the current USWNT staff would be in place for October’s matches against Colombia in Utah and San Diego.
“Twila will pick up the September and the October camps with the staff,” said Crocker. “And you know, in an ideal world, we’d like to be in a position for the December camp to have the new head coach in place.”
That is a quicker turnaround than the men’s coaching hire, after the post-World Cup evaluation process was massively complicated by a controversy surrounding head coach Gregg Berhalter, midfielder Gio Reyna, and his parents. The USMNT were eliminated in Qatar on December 3, and did not end up announcing Berhalter’s return until mid-June.
The USWNT situation is different: the team’s performance was well below expectations (unlike the USMNT), and Andonovski unsurprisingly stepped down from the job shortly after the tournament.
Another major difference: The 2024 Olympics kick off in just 10 months, giving the USWNT another major tournament to grapple with in short order. With U.S. Soccer looking to bounce back after a World Cup stumble, it’s no surprise to see some urgency in the hiring process.
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