For the first time since its founding year of 2019, Austin FC is on the market for a new head coach.
The club announced a “parting of ways” with Josh Wolff, the first and only head coach in Austin FC history, Sunday morning following a 2-1 loss to the LA Galaxy that solidified the club’s elimination from the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs.
“After back-to-back seasons without playoff qualification, we realize that a fresh start is required next season under the leadership of a new head coach,” ATXFC majority owner Anthony Precourt said in a statement. “As the first manager in club history, we would like to extend our gratitude for Josh’s role in the growth and development of our Club. It will always be appreciated.”
Precourt and sporting director Rodolfo Borrell met with Wolff early Sunday in Austin, after the club traveled back from the West Coast, to deliver the decision in person. Wolff had one year remaining on a contract extension he signed during the 2022 season.
“As an organization, our on-field ambitions are to be among the highest performing clubs in MLS year-over-year,” Borrell said in a statement. “To do that, progression is essential, and looking forward, we’ll now immediately begin a search for a new manager who can help us translate our ambition into consistent, high-level performance.”
The club will be led by an interim manager – likely assistant coach Davy Arnaud, though that was not made official as of Sunday morning – for the final match of the season, Oct. 19 against the Colorado Rapids at Q2 Stadium.
Austin FC’s MLS record under Wolff was a middling 45 wins, 60 losses, and 30 draws, missing the playoffs three out of four seasons. However, Wolff did guide the club to a second-place finish in the Western Conference during the 2022 regular season, which was followed by a playoff run to the Western Conference Final. The club generally struggled in cup competitions, failing to make significant runs in either the U.S. Open Cup or Leagues Cup.
Wolff faced multiple challenges during his four seasons in Austin, from expansion struggles in 2021 to the chaotic departure of then-sporting director Claudio Reyna following the 2022 season, which forced Wolff into double duty working as both a coach and a front office decision maker. He also dealt with the unusual departure of designated player Cecilio Dominguez amid a domestic violence investigation, and generally had difficulty getting the best out of the club’s high-dollar international signings.
“It’s been challenging,” Wolff said of his ATX tenure Saturday night. “Certainly, I think, from the get go, you try to make the best of a tough situation. And you know, you have a deck that’s in a lot of ways stacked against you from the beginning.”
Wolff also said following the club’s most recent home match that he felt he deserved to remain head coach for the 2025 season.
Ultimately, though, the lack of results caught up to Wolff in the eyes of ATXFC leadership. The decision is apparently a popular one among the club’s fanbase, with whom Wolff never seemed to completely connect. A “#WolffOut movement,” which started among the fringes of the fanbase as early as the club’s first season, became a common refrain toward the later end of the 2024 campaign, and was even heard chanted loudly during games at Q2 Stadium by the end of the year.
Austin FC will now search for its second-ever head coach, a decision that Borrell will likely have a large, if not exclusive, say in. Precourt and club ownership has made a tremendous investment in Borrell individually and on the players he’s brought to Central Texas. The accomplished Spaniard will now look for the right soccer mind to lead the roster he’s assembled since joining the club last year.
For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin Chronicle‘s Austin FC hub. Follow The Verde Report columnist Eric Goodman on X: @goodman.
This article appears in October 4 • 2024.
