Curtin call: Jim Curtin named new Austin FC head coach
Jim Curtin, targeted as a top Austin FC head coaching hire per our reporting, was officially named club skipper on Monday. He'll start following the close of the 2026 season.
We had a hunch. And we're thrilled our hunch was right.
On Monday, Austin FC named former Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin — a leading candidate for the role, per our reporting — to become its third official (and fourth actual) head coach, taking over at the conclusion of the 2026 MLS season.
As the club announced, Curtin — a two-time MLS Coach of the Year – will be handed the torch by interim head coach Davy Arnaud, who will continue in a caretaker role for Verde's remaining 19 regular-season matches, plus at least three Leagues Cup matches in August.
The club has also, with this move, for the second time in its history, named a head coach without a sporting director in place — indeed, Curtin's canned quote mentions the two C-level officials who have been with the club since before it was officially in MLS.
"I am incredibly honored to be named the Head Coach of Austin FC," Curtin said by way of press release. "This is a moment I will never forget, and I’m grateful to Anthony Precourt, Andy Loughnane, and the club’s ownership group for the trust placed in me. From our very first conversation, they shared a vision for Austin FC that is bold, ambitious, and built for the long term. Their belief in what this Club can become is contagious, and I’m proud to help bring that vision to life.”
“I had several other opportunities, both within MLS and abroad, but none of them excited me the way this project did. The city of Austin is unlike anywhere else and the chance to compete for this community was simply too compelling to pass up. This club has some of the finest facilities in all of MLS, and Q2 Stadium is one of the great venues in North American soccer. To walk out in front of the supporters, in that atmosphere, is a privilege that I don’t take lightly. The passion of the Austin FC faithful is known across the league, and our goal will be to give you a team that fights and makes you proud every time we take the field.”
How he compares
As we covered in our previous article, despite some mixed bags when it came to rosters, with club ownership not being the spendiest on designated players, Curtin coached at a 1.52 points per game pace over more than 400 matches, getting the Union to the playoffs in seven of his 11 seasons, including a six-year stretch between 2018 and 2023.
He also, during his time in Philly, took three teams to the U.S. Open Cup final, though he wasn't able to get any of those teams over the line, and had a heartbreaking MLS Cup loss to LAFC in 2022 — albeit, in perhaps the best MLS Cup match ever played.
As the article noted, he's done better for longer than either of his predecessors, Josh Wolff and Nico Estévez. Interestingly enough, he played for the Chicago Fire between 2001 and 2008, meaning he was teammates with Wolff for two seasons. (He was also teammates with current Canada head coach Jesse Marsch, current Kansas City Current head coach Chris Armas, and U.S. men's national team legends Carlos Bocanegra and DaMarcus Beasley.)
What to expect
We checked in with Joe Tansey, who writes the Union Soccer Blog on Substack and is a longtime follower of both the Union and Curtin's coaching. He said:
I love the hire. On a personal level you’ll love working with Jim. He’s great. (Note: Based on past interviews I did with him in my days writing for MLS, can confirm.)
He had the reputation here as a players' coach and someone who really could relate to the Philadelphia crowd. I think he’ll absolutely endear himself to the Austin fans right away with his approach. It’ll be interesting to see how his tactics evolve now. I’m sure the pressing background will stick around, but I wonder if he’ll have more freedom, unlike Philly where there’s a clear mandate on how to play.
I also can’t wait to see what he does with an owner that spends. After all he won Coach of the Year twice with a ton of bargain-bin players. Kai Wagner and Jakob Glesnes evolved into stars in MLS, but they were unknowns when they entered the league. I think he’ll do even better in Austin if higher-quality players are brought in for him to work with.
As an Austin FC fan, you've learned over five-and-a-half seasons to temper expectations, but this is a hire to be excited about, and the 2027 sprint season will provide an interesting first test for a coach with a good track record of coaching over shorter spans of time.
What it portends for the rest of the 2026 season, however, is fodder for further discussion — with Arnaud resuming the role he had in 2019, when he was a bridge between Wilmer Cabrera and Tab Ramos for nine matches. We'll dig in to that in the coming weeks.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
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We had a hunch. And we're thrilled our hunch was right.
On Monday, Austin FC named former Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin — a leading candidate for the role, per our reporting — to become its third official (and fourth actual) head coach, taking over at the conclusion of the 2026 MLS season.
As the club announced, Curtin — a two-time MLS Coach of the Year – will be handed the torch by interim head coach Davy Arnaud, who will continue in a caretaker role for Verde's remaining 19 regular-season matches, plus at least three Leagues Cup matches in August.
The club has also, with this move, for the second time in its history, named a head coach without a sporting director in place — indeed, Curtin's canned quote mentions the two C-level officials who have been with the club since before it was officially in MLS.
"I am incredibly honored to be named the Head Coach of Austin FC," Curtin said by way of press release. "This is a moment I will never forget, and I’m grateful to Anthony Precourt, Andy Loughnane, and the club’s ownership group for the trust placed in me. From our very first conversation, they shared a vision for Austin FC that is bold, ambitious, and built for the long term. Their belief in what this Club can become is contagious, and I’m proud to help bring that vision to life.”
“I had several other opportunities, both within MLS and abroad, but none of them excited me the way this project did. The city of Austin is unlike anywhere else and the chance to compete for this community was simply too compelling to pass up. This club has some of the finest facilities in all of MLS, and Q2 Stadium is one of the great venues in North American soccer. To walk out in front of the supporters, in that atmosphere, is a privilege that I don’t take lightly. The passion of the Austin FC faithful is known across the league, and our goal will be to give you a team that fights and makes you proud every time we take the field.”
How he compares
As we covered in our previous article, despite some mixed bags when it came to rosters, with club ownership not being the spendiest on designated players, Curtin coached at a 1.52 points per game pace over more than 400 matches, getting the Union to the playoffs in seven of his 11 seasons, including a six-year stretch between 2018 and 2023.
He also, during his time in Philly, took three teams to the U.S. Open Cup final, though he wasn't able to get any of those teams over the line, and had a heartbreaking MLS Cup loss to LAFC in 2022 — albeit, in perhaps the best MLS Cup match ever played.
As the article noted, he's done better for longer than either of his predecessors, Josh Wolff and Nico Estévez. Interestingly enough, he played for the Chicago Fire between 2001 and 2008, meaning he was teammates with Wolff for two seasons. (He was also teammates with current Canada head coach Jesse Marsch, current Kansas City Current head coach Chris Armas, and U.S. men's national team legends Carlos Bocanegra and DaMarcus Beasley.)
What to expect
We checked in with Joe Tansey, who writes the Union Soccer Blog on Substack and is a longtime follower of both the Union and Curtin's coaching. He said:
I love the hire. On a personal level you’ll love working with Jim. He’s great. (Note: Based on past interviews I did with him in my days writing for MLS, can confirm.)
He had the reputation here as a players' coach and someone who really could relate to the Philadelphia crowd. I think he’ll absolutely endear himself to the Austin fans right away with his approach. It’ll be interesting to see how his tactics evolve now. I’m sure the pressing background will stick around, but I wonder if he’ll have more freedom, unlike Philly where there’s a clear mandate on how to play.
I also can’t wait to see what he does with an owner that spends. After all he won Coach of the Year twice with a ton of bargain-bin players. Kai Wagner and Jakob Glesnes evolved into stars in MLS, but they were unknowns when they entered the league. I think he’ll do even better in Austin if higher-quality players are brought in for him to work with.
As an Austin FC fan, you've learned over five-and-a-half seasons to temper expectations, but this is a hire to be excited about, and the 2027 sprint season will provide an interesting first test for a coach with a good track record of coaching over shorter spans of time.
What it portends for the rest of the 2026 season, however, is fodder for further discussion — with Arnaud resuming the role he had in 2019, when he was a bridge between Wilmer Cabrera and Tab Ramos for nine matches. We'll dig in to that in the coming weeks.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
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