Jim Curtin is back in MLS as news broke on Monday announcing the former Philadelphia Union manager has agreed to become the next coach for MLS side Austin FC following the conclusion of the 2026 MLS season.
“Jim Curtin is one of the premier coaches in North American soccer, and we are exceptionally proud and incredibly excited that he has chosen Austin FC to continue his impressive journey,” said Austin founder, CEO, and majority owner Anthony Precourt in the club’s press statement following the announcement.
“I’d like to take a second to thank Anthony Precourt, Andy Lockney for their and ownership, and all of ownership for their trust and belief in me to lead this project forward, Curtin said speaking with Austin media on Tuesday. “It’s one that I don’t take lightly. It’s one that has me extremely excited. You know, when I spoke with Anthony and Andy, I could feel their passion for not just the game of soccer on the field, but for the city of Austin, for the belief they had in this project, for where they saw that it could go, and I had a real feeling of a great fit as a guy who believes very much in growing and building a culture through relationships with players and staff. I’d say we hit it off from the start, and while there were many different options during the last year, I’m incredibly happy I had patience and waited, and this opportunity came to me. So can’t thank them enough.”
News of the story first broke on Monday afternoon by Tom Bogert of The Athletic, stating that Curtin would become Austin’s new head coach following the season. Bogert also mentioned in a tweet moments later that the Portland Timbers, as well as others, had interviewed him as they too are looking for a new coach to replace Phil Neville.
Interim manager Davy Arnaud will continue to coach the club through the remainder of the current season, while the club’s search for a new sporting director continues.
Jim replaces former Austin FC manager Nico Estévez, who was fired along with Sporting Director Rodolfo Borrell on May 18 following a 5-7-3 start to the season, with the club currently sitting in 14th place in the MLS Western Conference.
As to how much Jim will have a say in the Sporting Director search, he had these words to share.
“Now as the sporting director search starts, that is the boss’s decision. Anthony is the boss, that will ultimately be his decision,” he said. “But I am here to give feedback, to give ideas, to give thoughts as we go through that process. I will say that, you know, it’s a, it’s a very appealing job to a lot of people in the sport, just like the head coaching position was. The timing was such that I wanted to jump on this position and commit myself to it. Anthony and Andy felt that I was in the rest of ownership agreed that I was a good fit, so I will be a part of it, but ultimately that will be Anthony’s decision, and I’ll be here to listen.”
For Curtin, following his departure from Philadelphia after the 2024 season, which saw the Union miss out on the playoffs, he chose not to jump back into the coaching carousel right away despite signing a three-year contract at the start of 2024. Instead, Curtin decided to wait for the right opportunity to present itself and spend time with his family while the remainder of his contract played out.
Curtin joins Austin after an 11-season run in charge of the Union, during which he won the Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year Award twice while guiding Philadelphia to the 2020 Supporters’ Shield, the 2022 MLS Eastern Conference title, and 141 MLS regular-season victories.
Without having to jump into the MLS season immediately following the 2026 FIFA World Cup break, Curtin can now focus on growing into his new role while Austin continues its search for a new sporting director.
As for his message to the fan’s of Austin FC, Curtin shared his message to them as well.
“I had the ability to visit in a unique week during Champions League, when we were in Philadelphia,” Curtin said. “When I was in Philadelphia, we got to train at the state of the art training facility there for the entire week. I got to see all the aspects of there, no detail was was left unturned. It’s a perfect environment for professional players to reach their max, like I talked about. It’s the best stadium I feel in North America, Q2 Stadium.”
“It is my job now to create an environment where other teams in MLS do not like coming to Q2. I know that it already it is considered one of the hardest places to come in terms of fans and the intimidation that they bring, and the effort and passion that they bring each and every game. Having said that, now it’ll also be our job not to drop points in that stadium, that is our home field. We have to protect it with their help and their support. It’ll be an environment where I’ll just say teams will be suffocated for 90 minutes. We’ll play on the front foot. We will score a lot of goals. We have a job to entertain them, to leave them happy and really excited and eager to see the next game. We will celebrate them with them after every final whistle, win, lose, or draw, we will clap them off the field. That is something that is a must, and they deserve that.”
While terms and additional details of his signing have not been announced at the time of this writing, one thing is clear: the next chapter of Jim Curtin’s journey will be in Austin.
Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union.
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