Former Union manager and Philly-area native Jim Curtin to become coach of MLS’s Austin FC
The club announced Monday afternoon that it hired Curtin, a two-time MLS Coach of the Year and Oreland native who led the Union for 11 seasons.
After parting ways with the Union in 2024, Jim Curtin has a new head coaching job.
Austin FC announced Monday afternoon that it hired Curtin, a Philadelphia-area native who led the Union for 11 seasons.
Curtin will start his new job with the Verde after the 2026 Major League Soccer season, which concludes in December.
“I am incredibly honored to be named the head coach of Austin FC,” Curtin said in a statement. “This is a moment I will never forget, and I’m grateful to [club owner] Anthony Precourt, [club president] Andy Loughnane, and the club’s ownership group for the trust placed in me. “From our very first conversation, they shared a vision for Austin FC that is bold, ambitious, and built for the long term. Their belief in what this club can become is contagious, and I’m proud to help bring that vision to life.”
Austin is one of seven MLS franchises that fired its coach before the league went on hiatus for this summer’s FIFA World Cup. The club fired sporting director Rodolfo Borrell and head coach Nico Estévez on May 18 after starting 3-6-5 (14 points) in league play. Austin then lost its final game before the World Cup.
The Union became the seventh team to part ways with a coach when they announced the dismissal of Bradley Carnell alongside sporting director Ernst Tanner in May. The Union still are searching for Carnell’s replacement.
Curtin said in Austin’s release that he had “several other opportunities, both within MLS and abroad, but none of them excited me the way [Austin] did.”
Curtin, who played at Villanova, took over the Union in 2014 and led the club to a 141-162-90 record over more than a decade on the touchline. The Union made the playoffs seven times under Curtin, winning the Supporters’ Shield in 2020 and reaching the MLS Cup finals in 2022.
Curtin was named the MLS Coach of the Year in 2020 and 2022.
After missing the playoffs for the first time in six seasons, the Union parted ways with Curtin at the end of the 2024 regular season. The club hired Carnell to replace Curtin in January 2025.
Curtin’s first season in charge in Austin will be the 2027 “sprint” season, a 14-game slate that will facilitate MLS’s move to a summer-to-spring league calendar. He will take over for interim coach Davy Arnaud, who will lead Austin through the remainder of the 2026 season.
MLS matches will resume July 16, and the Union’s first game back will be at home against the New York Red Bulls on July 22 (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).