CHESTER, Pa.— After a start to the 2026 MLS season in which the Philadelphia Union sit currently in 30th place in the league, the Philadelphia Union’s front office last Wednesday decided it was time to make a change as the club officially moved on from head coach Bradley Carnell and removed the interim tag from Sporting Director Jon Scheer, officially making him Sporting Director moving forward.
News first broke on Wednesday afternoon following the announcement of Olwethu Makhanya joining South Africa’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad.
Tom Bogert of The Athletic first broke the news, stating the Union and Carnell had agreed to part ways. Moments later, the club issued a press release stating the same and, in addition, announced that Jon Scheer had been named Sporting Director, removing the interim tag.
“On behalf of the Philadelphia Union organization, I want to thank Bradley for his dedication and commitment to the club during his time here,” said Philadelphia Union principal owner Jay Sugarman per the club’s press release. “He brought professionalism and passion to his role, and we appreciate everything he has contributed to the team and the organization. We are confident that he will find success in his future coaching endeavors.”
Carnell’s time in Philadelphia can eerily be compared to his time at his previous club in St. Louis City. After finishing atop the MLS Western Conference standings in 2023 with 56 points, which at the time was the highest league point total for an expansion club, Carnell’s squad struggled to find consistency and he was removed halfway through the season.
When Carnell was hired in early 2025 before the start of the MLS season, he guided Philadelphia to the club’s second Supporters’ Shield later that year. However, 2026 would be different for both Carnell and the Union. Following a roster shakeup that saw key pieces like Tai Baribo, Jakob Glesnes, and Kai Wagner depart the club, along with a difficult start in which the club struggled to get results, the organization decided it was time for Carnell to move on.
“I want to thank the fans, the players, the staff, and everyone involved with this club for the support and commitment during my time here,” said Carnell per the club’s press release. “I’m proud of what we accomplished together and grateful for the relationships and memories we built along the way. To my staff and especially the players, thank you for your hard work and dedication through both the highs and the challenges, you inspired me every day and I appreciate the opportunity to have been part of this team.”
Union II’s Ryan Richter will serve as the club’s interim first-team head coach. Richter, a longtime coach within the Philadelphia organization, came up through the academy ranks and served as Jim Curtin’s assistant from 2022-2024 following the departure of Pat Noonan to FC Cincinnati. Following Curtin’s departure in 2024, Richter took over the second team, guiding them to their second consecutive MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference Final in 2025.
2026 saw the likes of Cavan Sullivan fully move to the first team, Markus Anderson and CJ Olney loaned to Brooklyn FC, and the next wave of Academy players began to insert themselves in with the second team. While the results might have not always come as one might have hoped, the squad, for their youth, have flashed their potential and have always been in matches for the most part, which is a credit to Richter and his staff for the development.
Union Academy U-18 coach Chris Harmon will serve as the second team’s interim head coach while Richter is with the first team. Harmon came to Philadelphia from Austin FC II, where he served as an assistant coach during the 2024 and 2025 MLS NEXT Pro seasons.
Harmon began his coaching career at the collegiate level as an Assistant Coach at Florida Southern College before returning to Old Dominion in the same role. He later served as Head Coach and Assistant Academy Director at Barça Residency Academy and was most recently the U-17 Head Coach at New York Red Bulls Academy prior to joining Austin FC II.
Arriving to Philadelphia in August of 2025, Harmon has led the Academy’s U-18 squad to wins in the 2026 Snow Bowl and the 2026 Dallas Cup, and his familiarity with the many U-18s that have featured for Union II already this season will make the transition easier.
It remains uncertain whether both will remain in their roles full-time or if the arrangement is temporary while the club searches for a new head coach.
However, Scheer pointed out that Richter could stick around depending on how the search plays out and and the fact that the Union like to promote within.
“We always look internally first. We have a ton of belief in Ryan, excellent communicator, is all in growth mindset. I’m excited to work with him in this capacity. With that said, we’re going to make sure that whatever candidate we pursue is the best fit, can continue to drive the project forward, but also drive the coaches underneath forward as well. So he will be a candidate, but we have a ton of belief in Ryan for the future, regardless of he becomes head coach or not.”
As for Jon Scheer, he takes over for Ernst Tanner as Sporting Director on a permanent basis. He was named Interim Sporting Director following Tanner’s placement on administrative leave by MLS back in November. He becomes the fifth sporting director in the organization’s history.
“Jon has consistently demonstrated strong leadership, a deep understanding of our club philosophy, and a clear vision for the future of the Philadelphia Union,” said Jay Sugarman in the club’s statement. “As we enter a new chapter for the organization, we are confident in Jon’s ability to lead our sporting operations and get us back on track with a culture centered around development, ambition, and sustained success.”
Scheer joined Philadelphia back in 2018 as the Director of Talent Identification Director of Scouting for the Philadelphia Union, before making the move to Director of Academy and Professional Development in April of 2024.
Prior to that, the New Jersey native spent time at his alma mater, the University of Delaware, as an assistant coach from 2011-2018.
“I’m truly excited to work with the staff that we have to continue to drive this project forward,” Scheer said when speaking to the media last week. “You know, it certainly needs to be acknowledged, as Jay mentioned, that we’re not where we want to be right now, and we have to lean into our philosophy, our identity, our competitive strategy, and that’s what we can control moving forward as we attack a summer window that’s truly crucial for the group and the future of our organization, not only in terms of who we bring in but also who we choose to keep within within our squad.”
He will certainly have some decisions to make during this summer’s transfer window, which runs from Monday, July 13, 2026, to Wednesday, September 2, 2026, in what one could see be a very busy window with transfers either coming in or going out.
But for Scheer and his staff, it is not like they are going in the blind—there is a plan for what they looking for in this upcoming window.
“We’ve identified key ingredients that we’re looking for in our additions, in our signings,” Scheer mentioned.
“Whether that be leadership, whether that be weapons off set pieces, whether that be a piece to our back line that is left-footed to give us versatility in terms of how we build and how we attack, and can also say that we feel we need another attacking piece to give us a different look, a different skill set, especially in and around goal to help complement the pieces that we do have.”
Philadelphia has $4,744,841 in General Allocation Money at their disposal along with an open Designated Player and International Roster Slot, and that can change as well depending on who is sold, players getting their green card over the break to open up more room, or if the Union use GAM to pick up an additional spot, a lot can happen between now and then as club will have the opportunity to update their roster construction model between July 1 and the close of the Secondary Transfer Window.
As for Ernst Tanner, Jay Sugarman did say they would wait to hear back from the league following the end of his suspension on Monday, June 1st.
“Right now, is still in the rest of their process.” Sugarman said of Tanner going through the leagues mandated training. “We’re going to wait to see how that plays out, and what the reports we’ve gotten so far is he’s taken incredibly seriously. You know, I think he was always planning to go back, step back, and go back to Germany at the end of this contract year. So, we’re running out of time as it is, but we’re going to have conversations with him once we get all the information from the league and from the specialists who are working with him.”
As of this writing this is still not communication from the club as to what if at any, involvement Tanner has with the organization.
So while there are still a lot of decisions for Scheer and his staff to make between now when the Philadelphia Union kick off again on July 22nd, one thing is clear: the standards were not where the club wanted and it was time for a change. We will see it that pays off long term.
Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
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