Seattle Sounders part ways with head coach Sigi Schmid

Sounders assistant coach Brian Schmetzer will serve as the team’s interim head coach.

The Seattle Sounders have parted ways with head coach Sigi Schmid, the team announced Tuesday. 

The team called the decision mutual, but Seattle enters the All–Star Break with a 6-12-2 record, good for only 20 points. The Sounders are in second-to-last place in the Western Conference. 

Sounders assistant coach Brian Schmetzer will serve as the team’s interim head coach. 

Schmid, 63, has coached the Sounders for eight seasons, comprising the team’s entire history in Major League Soccer. Though he never won an MLS Cup, he led Seattle to seven playoff appearances and guided the team to the 2014 Supporters’ Shield and four U.S. Open Cup titles. 

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“I want to thank Seattle Sounders FC for the opportunity to lead this club over the past eight years, with particular gratitude to Adrian Hanauer, Joe Roth and the rest of the club’s ownership group. I’d also like to thank my coaches and technical staff for the support they’ve given me, and most importantly I want to thank my players for their tremendous effort throughout the years,” Schmid said. “I’m proud of the success we’ve achieved in winning five major trophies in Seattle, qualifying for the postseason for seven-straight seasons. My only disappointment is that we were unable to bring home an MLS Cup to our tremendous fans, who have always been supportive through good times and bad. In closing, I want to thank the Sounders FC organization, the club’s fans and the city of Seattle for this amazing run.”

Schmid, the only coach in MLS history to manager 500 league matches, won MLS Cups with Columbus Crew in 2008 and LA Galaxy in 2002. He has also won MLS Coach of the Year honors twice. 

Schmetzer, who takes over as the team’s interim coach effective immediately, has been the club’s top assistant since 2009, when Seattle joined MLS. He coached the team for seven seasons in the USL. 

- Stanley Kay