After eight seasons at the helm, Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid has mutually parted ways with the team after eight seasons, according to an announcement released by the team on Tuesday.
The decision comes just two days before the MLS All-Star Game and two days following an embarrassing 3-0 loss to Sporting KC on national television which saw the Sounders record just one shot over the entire match. Schmid will be replaced by Seattle assistant Brian Schmetzer. The Sounders have just 20 points through 20 games, which puts them ninth of ten teams in the Western Conference.
“Ultimately the club and Sigi agreed that a change was needed at this time,” Seattle owner Adrian Hanauer said in a release. “But Sigi’s legacy will always be a part of our history. He has my sincere appreciation for all that he committed to our team and community.”
Schmid had led the Sounders since the team joined MLS in 2007. Prior to this season, Schmid and Seattle had achieved a significant amount of success. The Sounders had MLS’s best regular season record in 2014 and won four U.S. Open Cups under Schmid. Seattle never won an MLS Cup, however.
Clint Dempsey, who joined the Sounders in 2013 after the team paid a league-record $9 million transfer fee, spoke about Schmid’s departure while preparing for Thursday’s All-Star Game.
“I got a text earlier today about it. [Schmid] was a coach that did well in his career,” Dempsey said. “His record speaks for itself, what he accomplished in MLS. He won MLS Cups and he was also able to do well at the collegiate level. I wish him the best.”
Asked if he would have wanted Schmid to keep his job, Dempsey said: “That’s not for me to decide. I just try to go in and help the team win. Whatever they feel is the best moving forward, you have to support that and try to turn things around.”
Seattle will open the Schmetzer era on Sunday against the L.A. Galaxy. Prior to serving as an assistant, Schmetzer was the Sounders’ coach while the team competed in the United Soccer League.
