Josh Wolff will return for a fourth season as Austin FC head coach in 2024, Sporting Director Rodolfo Borrell confirmed this week, as the club shifts its focus from a nightmare 2023 season toward a future full of change.
Despite an 81-day winless streak that colored the second half of the club’s Year 3 campaign, that change will not start at the top, as many fans had hoped. A 4-2 loss at home to LAFC Saturday night officially eliminated Austin FC from playoff contention, drawing speculation that it may have been Wolff’s final match at Q2 Stadium.
On Tuesday, Borrell explained his decision – and assured that it was 100% his decision – to retain the only head coach that Austin FC has ever known.
“I understand results matter, but putting results aside, what I can see is a very young coach, obviously with room for improvement like any other coach… very dedicated, very knowledgeable, and very much committed to the city and to the club,” Borrell said of Wolff. “I come from some of the best clubs in the world, so I know what I’m talking about when referring to coaches. And I think we have a very good coach on-site, and I think is the right fit for us.”
With one match remaining in the 2023 regular season (Oct. 21, away against the San Jose Earthquakes), the best Austin FC can hope for is a 10th place finish, one spot outside the Western Conference playoff places. That marks a significant step backward from the club’s 2nd place result a year ago. Even with a win in the season finale, Wolff would conclude his third year at the Verde helm with a lackluster 36-20-46 record in MLS, along with a 2-1 mark in the playoffs and a heinous résumé in cup/international matches.
But Borrell – who by his own admission is still feeling his way through his first experience in MLS after three decades in various roles at Barcelona, Liverpool, and Manchester City – has taken an approach to his sporting director role that goes beyond wins and losses. “I have a responsibility beyond results, in some sort of way,” he phrased it.
Specifically, Borrell values Wolff’s dedication and tireless work ethic, something he couldn’t help but notice the morning of Sept. 24. Just hours earlier, Borrell watched his club squander a late, 3-1 lead to the LA Galaxy and settle for a 3-3 draw in a match that finished around 1:30am due to a weather delay. Most ATXFC staff didn’t get to their beds until after 3.
“At 9am, I was here in the office, although it was a day off for the team and everybody. Josh was already at the office. And he was devastated,” Borrell recalled. “When you have a person who lives like this, in addition to all the other attributes, it’s the right person for us.”
From the moment Borrell arrived in Austin in July – coincidentally, immediately before the start of the club’s winless streak – he has spoken highly of Wolff. It’s been a different tone entirely regarding the club’s roster and front office construction. Those departments are in for an immediate overhaul. Borrell has already lined up five international scouts to assist in identifying and recruiting players from abroad (a far cry from the 80 scouts he’d become used to at his previous clubs). Sean Rubio, who served as Austin FC’s interim sporting director between Claudio Reyna’s dismissal and Borrell’s arrival, has left Central Texas for a post at Toronto FC.
Borrell also stressed his commitment to improving the roster in whatever ways the club’s salary cap situation will allow.
The message is clear: Change is needed, change is coming, but Wolff is here to stay.
For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin Chronicle‘s Austin FC hub. Follow “The Verde Report” columnist Eric Goodman on Twitter: @goodman.
This article appears in October 13 • 2023 and October 6 • 2023.
