Photo: Ron Soliman
In a shocking move, Philadelphia Union parted ways with longtime manager Jim Curtin on Thursday morning, according to a club release.
“Jim has been a remarkable leader and an integral part of our team’s success during his tenure,” Union owner Jay Sugarman said in a statement. “I have had the privilege to watch him grow into one of the top coaches in the league and deliver strong results and memorable moments that will be ingrained in our club’s history. This has been a difficult decision due in part to the immense gratitude and respect we have for him. We have no doubt he’ll find great success in his future coaching endeavors.”
Curtin, 45, leaves after 11 seasons in the job, taking over as interim manager after John Hackworth’s firing in mid-2014. After a rocky start, Curtin flourished, winning the first Supporters’ Shield in club history in 2020 and leading the team to its only MLS Cup appearance in 2022. He won the Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year award in each of those seasons. The Union made three appearances in Concacaf competition under his watch (2021, 2023, and 2024), made the MLS Cup Playoffs seven times, and appeared in four cup finals.
2024, though, was a disappointment, with the Union missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season.
“We want to extend our heartfelt appreciation to Jim for his passion and dedication to this club over the last ten seasons. He greatly contributed to the success the club has achieved in recent years and for that we are extremely grateful,” said Union sporting director Ernst Tanner. “We thank Jim for the significant impact he made both on the field and in the community. Following the 2024 season we recognize the need for change. We’ll continue to evaluate our sporting strategy and make necessary changes this offseason to best set the team up for success.”
No interim manager has been announced. A search for a new manager, the fourth in franchise history will begin immediately.
Sugarman and Tanner are set to meet the media on Monday, November 11.
Good luck Jim but it’s time to move on. Wouldn’t be surprised if he winds up on the USMNT staff somehow.
not a wise move, the fan base will diminish until sugarman is out of the picture, he does not care about the quality of the team composition because he watches the bottom line….So we the fans will pay for inferior team while the franchise worth increases. I believe Curtin endured all the baby sitting a coach could endure…. Good luck Jim
Necessary and time. Good luck Jim and thank you for the effort and dedication.
Two names to watch as the Union look to hire their next coach:
Roger Schmidt (Most recently Benfica; former PSV, Leverkusen & RB Salzburg manager)
Thomas Letsch (Most recently VfL Bochum; former Vitesse, Austria Vien & RB salzburg manager)
Both have worked with/for Ernst before, employ the same playing style of the high press and have used both the
4-3-1-2 and 4-2-2-2 throughout their careers.
those sound like very good football coaches but knowing how cheap sugarman is he will hire leblanc the cecond team as coach ?????
Given ownerships reluctance to spend on players, why would they come here?
When ownership doesn’t want fans to focus on the organization’s financial shortcomings, they make a news story about something else as a distraction.
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Jim deserves better than this. He won those awards and all of those games not just because he’s a great coach, but because he’s a great coach AND figured out a way for his team to punch miles above it’s weight for a decade.
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He deserves better.
Was there a power struggle or deep disagreement between Curtin and Tanner? I don’t really understand the decision.
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Curtin achieved a ton on one of the tightest budgets. He had flaws, but certainly evolved into a good coach. I wish him luck and hope he wins a few trophies in his next gig.
There was a lot of dissent bubbling through the cracks this year. It was mainly displayed by Blake and Wagner, two players who were pretty much bulletproof and couldn’t be retaliated against.
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If I had to guess there was a lot more going on under the hood.
Firing him is absurd. Puts a lot of pressure on Tanner. Tanner better nail the hire and some signings, otherwise he’s next, one would assume.
Honestly, I think this is the best for Jim.
The Union has no intention of evolving as an organization, and it seemed like Jim would just stagnate as coach if he stayed.
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He has the pedigree and I think more allies and people that are willing to vouch for him in the MLS than Ernst does so I think he can have a good selection of places to land. (My personal choice would be an assistant for the upcoming USMNT as he already has a relationship with lots of players there and would be a great asset to the upcoming cycle)
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One thing to keep in mind. Jim is a great coach who has had great success with his team. A coach with somewhat infuriating flaws who has never won the big game with an organization that never really gave him the final pieces to put it together.
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A coach who could flourish with another organization.
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I’m not saying Jim Curtin is going to be the Union’s Andy Reid but he could become the Union’s Andy Reid.
he deserves a fresh start. I’ll be happy if he prospers under another owner and TD. Like Andy, a fresh start can do wonders.
I think it’s pretty clear that Jim will be fine. He’s been universally lauded across the league and probably needed to go. 10 years is an eternity in this sport. We will find more success.
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It’s not nearly as clear what this means for the Union. They’ll need someone who can get a good tune out of an average squad. These guys don’t grow on trees. I’m sure Tanner has ideas. In the long run, I think it was time to go.Team was just stale all around. Not saying that was Jim’s fault, but he wasn’t blameless.
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As a gent, I’m defined to see him go. He is a tremendous guy. Couldn’t ask more from him, really. He’ll always be welcomed back.
What a shocking week.
Agree with comments above. JC is first class and truly embodied the Philly spirit. He will succeed elsewhere. I’d like for him to stay in the league to see what he could do with another MLS club with backing.
I heard Atlanta was interested in interviewing him for their last manager opening but Jim turned them down. It’s interesting to imagine him with a MLS club that actually spends cash.
Not too different from some comments above, but I suspect that Jim finally has enough leverage and credibility to walk in to Tanner’s office and demand better players. Tanner, probably handcuffed by Sugarman, said “no can do.” Jim wins in this situation. I suspect this is not Tanner’s fault, he’s operating within his boss’ restrictive guidelines.
I would really appreciate more direction and ambition from the owner.
The Union are trying every way possible to alienate the loyal fans and show that they care about nothing other than bottom line profits.
Sure Jum is not perfect, but no one is. Overall he did the best job possible with the tools he was given. Sugarman refuses to spend money on much needed players and expects a coach that has the Midas touch. In fact I would say that this team has overperformed over the past decade based on the players they had.
Ownership decides not to make any substantial upgrades over the past 3 seasons while other teams bring in the likes of Messi, Bouanga Benteke, Arango, etc… When the expected result actually happens, they then fire the coach. Way to go Sugarman in reinforcing your cheapness and lack of any desire to make this a better team in today’s MLS.
This is such a strong case for moving to a league with relegation and promotion. The owners are then forced to at least try to stay relevant.
It was an amazing experience to attend MLS Cup 2022 in LA even though they lost. I fully expect that may be the last time they are in that final game until we get an ownership group that wants to actually invest in the players.
Until that time, I have a short list of potential coaches that will align well with the ownership:
Bozo
Ronald McDonald
Krusty
P.S. We should all wear shirts to opening day that simply say “Sugarman Sucks”