The Chicago Fire have dismissed head coach Ezra Hendrickson after less than a season and a half in charge.
The Fire have struggled under Hendrickson, finishing in 12th place out of 14 Eastern Conference teams in 2022, and starting the 2023 campaign with a 2W-5D-3L record that has them second from the bottom.
Assistant coach Frank Klopas will move into the head coach role for the rest of the season.
“This was a difficult decision, but after careful consideration, we felt that a change was necessary at this time as we work toward our goal of advancing to the playoffs and competing for trophies,” said sporting director Georg Heitz in a club release.
“We’d like to thank Ezra and Junior [González, assistant coach] for their efforts during the past two seasons, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”
This will be the third time Klopas has coached the Fire, having previously been in charge between 2011 and 2013, as well as an interim stint in 2021 after the Fire dismissed Raphaël Wicky.
The Fire have only made the postseason once (2017) in the last 11 seasons.
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