Jim Curtin and Union part ways, sparking more questions than answers

Jim Curtin, the longest tenured coach in Philadelphia Union history, is now without a job.

It’s a shocking move and a head scratching start to what some have already lauded as the most important off-season in team history.

The news was first reported by Pablo Mauer and Felipe Car with the Athletic. Tom Bogert has also confirmed this initial report as true. The club has also officially stated this move is confirmed.

“Jim has been a remarkable leader and an integral part of our team’s success during his tenure,” said Jay Sugarman, Principal Owner, Philadelphia Union. “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.”

“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 Ernst Tanner, Sporting Director, Philadelphia Union. “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.”

While Curtin and his staff surely played a role in the most recent failure of a season, at this point it is far from clear that he is the main reason for the lack of success this past year. The club failed to bolster their roster in meaningful ways leaving Curtin with limited resources and questionable depth on the roster. Despite the struggles this year, Curtin made several mentions of the future and how the club can look to rebound off their failure.

As of now, Sporting Director Ernst Tanner is still in the picture with the club. But the fact that Curtin is serving as a potential scapegoat for the club leaves many with a sour taste in their mouths.

After all, Curtin is responsible for guiding the club to their first ever trophy win in 2020 and MLS Finals appearance. They’ve been a top 10 team for much of the last 5 years (excluding this most recent season). And Curtin has succeeded despite numerous examples of the club failing to spend the necessary money to compete with the best of the best leaguewide.

He’s been at the helm since 2014 and up until this morning, Curtin was the second-longest tenured manager in MLS after 10 seasons in charge. He signed an extension ins 2023 which, on paper at least, indicated he’d be coaching in Chester through the end of the 2026 season. He even went so far as declining interview opportunities with fellow Eastern Conference club Atlanta United at the end of this season, indicating a true desire to remain in Philly and sort out the recent struggles in performance and roster building.

But unfortunately, Curtin will no longer have the opportunity to work on solutions for a club who stumbled after recent stretches of success.

The bottom line, firing Curtin doesn’t really solve the problems that caused a down year in 2024. If anything, it creates more questions than answers.