The Orlando Pride are turning to a familiar face to help them change their stars.
Seb Hines, who spent most of 2022 leading the club on an interim basis, has been named the club’s head coach after signing a multi-year contract. The move comes amid larger restructuring aimed at lifting a team that has just one playoff appearance in its history.
“Seb is a talented coach that has demonstrated great leadership and an ability to get the most out of his players, while also establishing an inclusive and competitive team culture,” said Pride chairman Mark Wilf in a club statement. “He stepped into a difficult position this year, handling it with professionalism and brought about many positive changes both on and off the field for our club. After evaluating what we want the future for the Pride to be, listening to player feedback and discussing with Seb, it became very clear that he has earned the opportunity to continue leading our club.”
Orlando is coming off of a difficult season, and on the surface, Hines’ 3W-5D-7L record might not seem very impressive. Context is key, though: Orlando started the season with a brand-new coach in Amanda Cromwell, who was suspended by the Pride after just seven games after a recommendation from the NWSL and NWSLPA joint investigation team.
Cromwell and assistant coach Sam Greene eventually had their contracts terminated by the NWSL for what the league called “retaliation and attempted retaliation.”
On top of that, Orlando lost Marta — the centerpiece of an attack that was otherwise in stage one of a rebuild — to a torn ACL suffered in their second competitive match of the season. It was a one-two punch that few teams would be expected to overcome.
Speaking with Pro Soccer Wire, Hines said that his path towards putting himself up as a permanent head coaching candidate after the worst game of Orlando’s season, a 6-0 shellacking at the eventual NWSL champion Portland Thorns.
“Obviously, that performance just wasn’t good enough. You know, that wasn’t a reflection of who we were,” said Hines. “After that game, we knew that we had to make changes. We had to implement our ways, and our culture, and our standards and expectations.”
Orlando staffed up, with Giles Barnes and Miguel Gallardo (like Hines, both former Orlando City players) joining Hines’ staff on an interim basis. The changes in mentality and structure paid off immediately, with the Pride going seven straight games without a loss. That streak included wins over two playoffs teams (San Diego and Houston) as well as a road draw against a Kansas City Current side that was in the midst of their own lengthy unbeaten run.
It’s not clear whether Hines will keep the same staff or if further changes are coming. For one thing, Hines has only just gotten the job. The Pride are also undergoing a major restructuring, with the club listing player development, analytics, scouting, and medical services as departments where new hires are coming in the near future. General manager Ian Fleming is no longer with the club due to the restructuring process, leaving an open question about planning the early stages of their offseason.
All of that is to say that how Orlando will look in four or five months is unclear. Hines knows he has to focus on controlling what he can amid a rapidly changing environment, and he wants to start by getting the Pride to be more effective in possession and at the back.
“I played center back so conceding goals was something that I hated,” said Hines. “There’s no hiding places, we conceded way too many goals last year. And that’s an issue, that’s a problem.”
For Hines, the preferred recipe to help Orlando — who gave up 30 goals in 15 games under Hines in 2022 — at the back is to take better care of the ball, dictating the terms by maintaining possession and leaving their defense with fewer fires to put out.
“The league is transitional. It’s survival of the fittest sometimes. You try and prevent that as much as you can, but one way of trying to prevent transition is keeping the ball,” explained Hines, who also noted that specifically for Orlando, possession-oriented play has an added benefit.
“We want to use our home field advantage a lot more. You know, only getting one win at home is not good enough in front of our fans,” Hines said after a season where the Pride went 1W-5D-5L at Exploria Stadium. “We need to start using the heat as best as we can… something that you know other teams don’t have is the humidity, and in Orlando, we must use that.”
Beyond expanding on a game model that had to be improvised, Hines was quick to point out that the Pride should improve organically thanks to some younger players seeing plenty of action in 2022.
“It was a big revamp year for us,” observed Hines on an Orlando side that traded Alex Morgan, Ashlyn Harris, and Ali Krieger away last December, and then moved Sydney Leroux to Angel City mid-season. “It allowed the young players to get that experience which they may not have got. You’re looking at some really good young, talented players getting really good, significant minutes. So, experience is irreplaceable… it’s something that they can build on. They know what the league is about, they know what the standards are in this league.”
Hines also had some welcome news to boost his squad, as well as the hopes of Pride fans: Marta, that ageless wonder, is ahead of her ACL rehab schedule.
“She’s so driven,” enthused Hines, who said the Brazil captain’s return should have a comparable impact to making a big move in the transfer market. “She’s running, she’s cutting, she’s passing. She’s beyond where she should be at this point in terms of rehab.”
Getting Marta back will add a creative, technical element that was missing from Orlando’s attack all year, but it also adds a world-class professional to the mix for a young group to learn from.
“To have someone who has won every personal accolade that you can think of, she fits everything that we’re talking about,” said Hines. “I’ve seen her over the last four years and just see what she brings to the to the team, she’s first class.”
Hines has seen a lot since coming to Florida to play in MLS with Orlando City: ownership changes, several general managers, and of course numerous coaches with the Pride. With the Wilf family taking a controlling stake in the club in 2021, Hines says he feels there’s a sense of “stability” to come with the forthcoming investment in the club.
“They have a vision, and I’m very grateful that they see me being part of this vision as well, moving forward. So they are fully invested. They want to see success in Orlando, they want to see us lift a trophy… We’re super excited and can’t wait to get started.”
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