The U.S. men’s national team is reportedly set to have a familiar face return as head coach in the near future.
Gregg Berhalter is set to return as USMNT head coach after being without a job since December 2022, The Athletic reported Thursday. Berhalter, whose contract originally expired in December, had previously been linked with Club America, Swansea City, and Sparta Rotterdam over recent weeks.
The news comes on the same night that Ron Waxman, the agent of USMNT head coaching candidate Jesse Marsch, announced that Marsch would not become the program’s new manager.
The 49-year-old registered a 37-12-11 record in 60 matches in charge of the USMNT, winning the 2021 Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup titles.
A former USMNT defender, Berhalter led the Americans to FIFA World Cup Qualification in 2022, leading them to the Round of 16 before suffering elimination at the hands of the Netherlands.
Berhalter also held coaching positions with the Columbus Crew and Swedish club Hammarby in his career. In total, Berhalter has won 129 of his 299 matches in charge during his managerial career.
The USMNT faces Mexico in Concacaf Nations League action on Thursday, with the winner meeting Canada in the tournament final on Sunday. B.J. Callaghan was elevated to interim head coach earlier this spring after Anthony Hudson took a head coaching position in Qatar.
JR,
“Lost: that was Berhalter’s stupid unimaginative system out there last night. ” I didn’t want Berhalter back but that was The Berhalter Way.
No system is original. Last night would argue for having BJ as the manager since Gregg never had them looking that good.
While El Tri were horseshit, so were most of the teams that Gregg played during his tenure.
Bottom line, Gregg may have the “vision”, and it may be a good one.
I’ve worked with “vision ” people.
But the “visioneer” is often the worst guy to implement his vision. Usually, someone else does it better.
I don’t have a problem with this.
I think the #berhalterout people are delusional. I think these same people are irrational with regards to their assessment of the talent level of the US player pool. There I said it.
So our talent pool is third best in Concacaf by means of goal differential? That’s where Gregg’s team wound up after a balanced 16 game round robin?
Or it was the most successful team in the region at the only tournament that actually really matters. See I can cherry pick stuff too.
Or the best team in the region after the Nations League
Or the best team in the region after the Gold Cup
CONCACAF WC qualifying is not a measure of regional tyranny.
The #1 objective is to qualify.
Once you do that . The remaining games are irrelevant, though they can be useful as practice or for trying out people. So maybe you finish first or second or third by one or two points. Seriously, the teams don’t give a shit. They are focused on needing to be careful about avoiding injury and resting for the World Cup.
The real determinant of regional dominance is the Gold Cup, that is assuming they all take it seriously and send their best.
Down through the years that has not always been the case so now it loks like the Nation’s League is the real bragging rights tournament.
Like anyone really gives a shit.
The dominant teams in the region are the US, Mexico and Canada.
Mexico are probably #3.
Canada are better coached and may be more motivated. Their best player ( Phonso ) is better and more accomplished than our best player (??)
In the end, our dominance is unquestioned.
We have more players and much, much more money than the rest. Outspend them. That’s a very American way of doing things
this is first place talent finishing 3rd in qualifying. this went out round of 16 with a 1-2-1 record. it often was dull and plodding to watch. it is nowhere near perfected and the man to push this further isn’t who we just rehired.
the real argument you are making is some sort of “he is the best we can get within our budget confines” which is an artificial constraints game designed to flatter him. i am pretty sure we could do better. i think you’re not acknowledging the ceiling this hiring places on the team. if you’re saying we can’t pay a coach more well that may limit how far this goes. your restrictions are not themselves without consequence. you just externalize the consequences by saying “within our budget.”
I’m not arguing for him. I just not arguing against him. The vehemence with which people hate the guy is delusional. The previous comment – cherry picking the one regional “tournament” he entered that he didn’t win – is a perfect example of that.
In your delusional response you expect perfection and you want this player pool to perform waaay above there current talent level. And start talking about budgets. What? The players on the team – who play with European coaches in top leagues….are in support of the guy you hate. Hmmm…maybe these professionals know something you don’t? Maybe? Is it possible? Does a world exist where that is true? Or do you and all the keyboard warriors with their hashtags just know better than Pulisic and Weah and company.
Again #berhalterout people are delusional and they overrate the player pool.
“The vehemence with which people hate the guy is delusional.”
It’ s very similar to the vehemence you display towards Hudson., a man who does not have anywhere near the kind of baggage, as far as we can tell, that Gregg does.
“I think these same people are irrational with regards to their assessment of the talent level of the US player pool.”
That does not mean that Gregg is the best manager the USMNT could have had.
The key word with the USMNT talent pool is POTENTIAL.
It has the potential to be a really good team that can beat real teams, not just watered down cannon fodder like that pathetic Mexico squad.
In other words they aren’t that good yet.
And might not ever be that good.
Which is why they need the best manager they could possibly get.
A lot of our guys are big fish in a small pond. Which is why they sometimes look wonderful in a USMNT shirt. At least initially. But then at some point, we have to play in a bigger pond with bigger fish And suddenly, our guys don’t look so great. there are bigger fish
Is Gregg the guy to help them get past that phase? He could be depending on how they approach it but there is ample reason to doubt him.
I’ve long said the plan all along was for Gregg to use 22 as a learning experience and then move on to 26.
It should not have been as hard as he made it
Nothing but cupcakes his first three years, qualification that was made even easier by a format change from the Hex to the Octagon and finally by a WC draw leading to a pretty reasonable group.
But Gregg, no one else, made it harder than it had to be.
He’s 100% responsible for his big mouth at the Leadership Conference.
He’s 100% responsible for this foolishness with Gio. He’s supposed to be the adult in the room.. Gio may be a shitbag diva and a punk , but the talent is there and other managers get production out of their shitbag divas.
He’s 100% lucky the Reynas got involved and then exposed because ultimately, they had the effect of making a douchebag suddenly look like a poor victim, poor baby. Gregg the martyr.
Me, I was just mad that he wasted the resource that was Gio.
It’s Gregg’s job to get something out of guys like Gio and if that’s not possible then he should not have taken him to the World Cup in the first place and should have gotten someone else in there. Or once he started acting up he should have sent him home .
In the end , Gregg gets credit for a very good World Cup but he mostly lucked out.
If you’re in favor of giving him a second shot at going through the cycle without this thing imploding then have at it.
I don’t think there are any more duals out there at Flo’s level so Gregg is going to have to hope that the current pool has enough people step up their performance to make up the difference that they will need
Thanks for making my point
Mr. Obvious,
You’re welcome.
There is only so much a USMNT manager can do with these players .
But given the stakes you’d think the USSF would want a manager who can maximize that “not much”.
Gregg is not a total idiot but he’s also not that “Maximizer”.
But he is at the right price point, and he will probably keep his mouth shut. The USSF has him by the short hairs. His exit stained his rep, however unfairly the poor baby was treated, and maybe he wants to fix that. He may yet regret coming back.
Realistically, Gio should quit the team and focus on his club career, which he really needs to do anyway. If he can become the player I think he will be, eventually they will beg him to come back. I doubt that Gregg has the managerial band with to deal with the GIo situation. He fucked that up real good the last time.
For those who absolutely hate this, I’m not convinced if a better thing comes along before 2026 that Gregg’s potion is unassailable.
This isn’t over. Last time out Gregg just had to qualify. Now there are some people, some of them serious, who think we’re supposed to make the semis or even the final. The expectations, however unrealistic, are a quantum leap higher. As they say, “this ain’t no party, this aint no disco, this aint no fooling around”. Gregg is really in the big time now.
As phony and fucked up as this “intensive worldwide search” was you can legitimately make the case that Gregg was the best of a bad bunch in terms or realistic alternatives. Every name in the world was thrown out there but how many of them were actually realistic candidates?
To the quality managers who are available, the job of USMNT manager is not highly desirable contrary to popular opinion. The proof is in the pudding. Go down the list of the guys who have managed the USMNT. I rest my case
The Copa America is coming up next year. This is a serious tournament featuring teams that can seriously humiliate the USMNT They are unlikely to run into an Iran or a Wales. Even the lesser CONMEBOL lights are likely to be a serious problem.
If Copa America goes to shit, the actual composition of the team will be much clearer, and it won’t be too late to change managers.
And if they win Copa America or do well then I won’t have much to complain about.
The two and a half years or so we have before the 2026 WC team roster needs to be finalized is an eternity in the soccer world.
In English, I hope I’m correct in assuming that there is now a boot on Gregg’s neck that wasn’t there the last time when he was fucking around with his stupid lineups and his buddies like Lletget and Yueill.
If that version of Gregg shows up for Copa America we will be bent over and introduced to reality. And they will get some other hump in there.
Or if Gregg has smartened up and puts in a credible Copa America and keeps the team in good order and ready for 2026. then we won’t have too much to complain about.
I don’t expect too much from a fussbudget like Gregg but if he can just drop his ego and stay out of the way of the players, everyone’s life will be simpler.
Terrible decision. Bad coach at National level, over complicates field. Terrible at managing internal player issues. Poor record in WC even though they qualified they scored very little. Better coaches were out there. Just a dumb decision.
If GB starts back after Sunday’s NL final, I wonder how does that impact the Gold Cup roster, assuming he takes over then? The prelim roster is set, I believe at this point.
Paul Tenerio who was one of the reporters that broke the story said Gregg will probably not be managing Gold Cup.
Probably not at all. Gregg was ALWAYS going to be the coach and is probably behind the roster anyway.
Bummer. I’ve never seen our team play like it did Las night under GB.
“You can see, today is a testament of the work that [Berhalter] put into this team,” Pulisic said. With only Tyler missing it might be the most fit we’ve been since maybe the last NL. Also I didn’t think Berhalter should be brought back but obviously the guys give him a lot more credit than the fans.
They guys have a vested interest in pleasing their coach, especially if they figured all along that GB was always going to be brought back.
bull. that looked good precisely when it didn’t look like a GB team. counters, dribbling, reyna. when it did it ground to a halt. i don’t even know why pulisic is kissing up, whether it was an anti marsch/dolo crusade or what. but he’s not objective in the slightest. i mean, basic reality check, do the things he has said lately mirror what you see on the field? they hardly won that game by playing GB style keepaway. they might have even won it because when mexico might have expected us to pause — we didn’t. we went right after them. just like last time we played them in a NL final btw.
“With only Tyler missing it might be the most fit we’ve been since maybe the last NL.”
This is a very old and tired excuse.
A national team manager is judged by how well they adjust to injuries. Going by their histories Pulisic and Tyler are more likely to be unfit in 2026 than not
Gregg overall did well in Qatar. But that is because the bar was set so low for him .
The bar is now set infinitely higher.
“You can see, today is a testament of the work that [Berhalter] put into this team,” Pulisic said ……but obviously the guys give him a lot more credit than the fans.”
There’s a good reason for that. And it’s not what you may think.
Our Euros (maybe even Balogun) are largely fringe players who have yet to solidify their places. So rocking the boat is not their thing. They are not about to risk losing the only place where they are big fish in a small pond.
After the report ( which was a very lame one if you read it closely, you could have produced it) I did not see an “organic” wave on the part of the players relieved that now they get their beloved mentor and guiding light back.
Pulisic’s support for Greg feels much more like Crocker going to Alexi and Pulisic and telling them, ” we’re going to bring Gregg back and it would be helpful if you could say something nice about him, do you feel me?”.
American players and ex-players in general are mostly sheep and very unlikely to rock the boat. Scally? He stuck his head up and is going to get it shot off. The official Gregg hater; lets see how long that sucker lasts. As long as BMG stays good and he stays with them he’ll be okay but if he drops a level? The kid will be dead meat.
After all, Pulisic has finally found a manager who views him as an automatic selection. He’s no fool.
Now it is Pulisic/Berhalter = Donovan /Arena.
On the whole, our player pool with the exception of (Ream and Antonee) are a bunch of rejects in the sense that they all have something to prove. Their careers, at their preferred level , are in the balance.
Pulisic, Dest, Weston, Weah, Turner, Aaronson, etc, were all tarnished this season.
What Gregg has going for him now is that those are the names, not Lletget, Long, Ariolla , Zardes, Morris, Roldan, Yueill, Shaq, etc. Of course you can’t tell with that guy.
This whole thing has such an NFL corporate feel to it
Mixed feelings here. My biggest complaint with Berhalter is he made things too complicated, as someone said below, the interim managers simply picked the best players, made logical substitutions, and voila! we have looked amazing on the field. GB is a smart guy, I will hope he has noticed the same thing. Ultimately I think the players wishes weighed heavily, as it is no secret that the core players on the USMNT wanted Greg back. And that really is enough for me in the end, because it is the players who need to be comfortable to best compete. We tried a manager before who was a legendary player who constantly challenged players, tested them, and eventually wore them down and out and the locker room imploded, causing years of problems. Whatever hate GB gets, it is undeniable he has built a team comraderie with young exciting players to the point where big time talents are clamoring to be a part of it. Have to hope he studies up on how to manage games a little better, or else surrounds himself with good assistants and heeds their advice.
Im still selling those tin foil conspiracy hats from years ago yall. Might have more demand now. Same old same old. MLS controls USSF. Thought they finally got on the right track after the SUM contract expired. Should have never gotten my hopes up.
Joe,
By the way:
“Wednesday, Feb 22, 2023, 12:03 PM
EVP of Properties and New Ventures, MLS and SUM
As Executive Vice-President of Properties and New Ventures at Major League Soccer and Soccer United Marketing, Jay Berhalter focuses on building long-term value for the League and its owners through strategic projects and initiatives, property development, and new business ventures.”
Just thought you’d like to know. For those of you who think Gregg does not have some juice behind him.
You do not bring someone back in a business like this you don’t do it it’s not that he’s a bad coach it’s a bad decision from a business perspective. I feel bad for Greg it was wrong what happened but this is not how you remedy it.
However he didn’t average job not bad but messes with the lineup way too much allows political influence from MLS doesn’t play his best players the interim coaches just played simple and played their best players and did a much better job
GB should have been fired for the Dutch game alone. A world cup round of 16 team that doesn’t know how to mark on counters…
So Patrick Veira amd Pelligrino Materazzo said no and withdrew their names too?
The federation was just pretending to hire someone for the last 6 months, Striker.
USSF is the WORST!!!
They stink big time!
In all fairness, Mexico is probably worse and Ghana has at least in the past not paid their players so at one point they were worse.
Mexico’s Federation always been arrogant and xenophobic, and Mexico’s Federation excepts too much from the current talent pool. While USSF does not care about USNT and their mentality is still in 1990’s.
Love McKennie stuck up for his guy. That’s not a red card on McKennie. Mexico should have three red cards by now.
That red card will be overturned.
I have never seen a red card over turned. Good luck.
Is Dest card getting overturned too?
Concacaf never overturns red cards.
Both made contact to an opponent’s head/neck area. Neither is getting overturned. Neither would be getting overturned even if this wasn’t CONCACAF.
2Tone, I don’t love it but I don’t hate it. The foul on Balogan was aggregious, Antuna should have gotten a 2nd yellow for hitting Reyna in the head shortly before, and it was clear the ref had lost control of the game. Maybe you didn’t see what McKennie did but you would have to have a pretty liberal interpretation of the “violent conduct” rule to think what he did wouldn’t be classified as such. That isn’t to say that 4 other Mexican players shouldn’t have gotten red cards for their part as well but McKennie certainly was the one that escalated the situation. At some point, sticking up for your teammates becomes more important and apparently McKennie reached that point and I am okay with that. However, I will be shocked if the card gets overturned but the again, I just told Vac that I would be shocked if GGG was rehired so shows how much I know. I guess we can hope …
Out of American couches Berhalter was probably at the top of the list. So the only possible explanations for this are:
1. Every viable foreign coach said no to the USMNT. Not likely.
2. The USMNT has no money, or is being cheap with the money they are offering.
Those of us wanting to see John Brooks back, well that’s over.
I wonder what Gio, Pepi, and Steffen are thinking right now..
Here comes Haji Wright, Shaq Moore, Jesus Ferreira, and Aaron Long. Those boys are awful.
Haji & Shaq don’t suck, you trippin’!
Shaq was awful in The World Cup he kept knocking the ball out 🤦♂️. Haji is good I want him to go to EPL, France, or Bundesliga
You forgot Roldan, Arriola, Acosta, and Jordan Morris…..
We’ll see more BS about “Vibes”, see a failure to integrate players, the black-balling of players, and a RIGID adherence Gregg’s stupid/unimaginative system.
Haji to a big league? Ha! Our good players barely sniff the field in the big leagues. Haji can’t play U19 club soccer in Oklahoma. I never want to see him in a US shirt again.
Lost: that was Berhalter’s stupid unimaginative system out there last night. I didn’t want Berhalter back but that was The Berhalter Way. All the whining and complaining about losing that 3-0 friendly in 2019 it led to this. They learned to play under the Mexican pressure. By being rigid in ‘19, we built the confidence in ourselves and the group in each other. Mexico is not very good right now and Cocca made mistakes with some of his selections but Mexico has been average in the past but forced us to make mistakes that beat us.
JR,
“Lost: that was Berhalter’s stupid unimaginative system out there last night. ” I didn’t want Berhalter back but that was The Berhalter Way.
No system is original. Last night would argue for having BJ as the manager since Gregg never had them looking that good.
While El Tri were horseshit, so were most of the teams that Gregg played during his tenure.
Bottom line, Gregg may have the “vision”, and it may be a good one.
I’ve worked with “vision ” people.
But the “visioneer” is often the worst guy to implement his vision. Usually, someone else does it better.
I am sure that Pepi, Renya already knew and that GB was going to be hired. I do not think they would have hired GB without patching things up, especially with Reyna. It was leaked out right before kickoff. It was all planned like this. The federation is a complete joke. Yes, Brooks is out.
You are assuming that the federation has two brain cells to rub together to handle the situation properly. You could be right but my money is on you assuming too much.
No qualifying means no actual pressure on him… He’s here for the freakin duration
this is my thing. barring some horrible run of friendlies, he will get 2026. the players kissing up have made a bet. i think they have undersold the potential of the thing or oversold GB’s ability to get it there. i am curious why. my guess is budget and who they saw having a competing chance for the job that they didn’t like. to me it’s not a good sign for the old coach when a team looks more lively and effective in their absence.
Bac,
Not so fast.
They are supposed to go to Copa America 2024.
Most of the teams in CONMEBOL could be a problem for the USMNT.
There’s a lot of potential there to get humiliated.
Ridiculous. Does USSF have no shame? In the first half of the US game vs. Mexico tonight, the US is playing better than they ever did under GB.
You are 100% correct, Gary. USSF hired a third party organization to help them find a quality coach for 2026, but they spent all of that money on that third party and hired GB again. LOL. Crocker was just a puppet. All of this Zidan interest and all the others were just total BS. I knew the USSF was terrible but this is a new low. If your plan is to bring him back, you do not need a third party to do it. The Federation is only for maintaining power and doesn’t care about the growth of US soccer. This was all planned. They need a good ol’ boy.
Mislead fans and delay the process 6 months, for what?
curious whether the runored “return is imminent” means potential canada game or gold cup. i am not a fan of this choice but if you’re going that direction and selling these caretakers are “continuity,” he should take over tomorrow.
No, if true he might be in the suite with Crocker but I don’t think you change it up between matches. Maybe for GC.
change “what” up? this is supposed to be continuity caretaking. this remains 90+% his selection. i think the real reason is results this summer aren’t guaranteed so this insulates them/him from imperfection. ie if we don’t win both it’s callaghan’s fault.
I was privately hoping for one of Marsch or Pellegrino, both of whom have done fairly well coaching lower level teams in competitive leagues. It will be interesting to hear the rationale for rehiring Berhalter. To be perfectly fair, he did do well in the time he coached the US men. Perhaps the others were not viewed as upgrades or didn’t bring anything new or dynamic to impact change.
Thinking GB gets maybe a 2 year contract then the decision on who leads for 2026.
PN – “To be perfectly fair, he did do well in the time he coached the US men.”….I have to STRONGLY Disagree. Gregg got to the WC in the 3rd place spot on Goal Differential….1-W, 2-D, 1-L at the WC advancing in 2nd place from a weak group….Had ZERO significant wins under GGG (don’t mention the win’s against Mexico considering they’ve been on the downturn for 4 years).
GGG’s failure to recognize his weaknesses (Poor player selections, Favoritism to MLS, Poor in-game adjustments) and his total mismanagement of the Reyna situation.
Let’s not forget those back to back losses to the US in the summer of ‘21 had an impact on the Mexican collapse so you can’t completely devalue those wins. They were flying in ‘19 and even coming out of the Covid break.
The others weren’t viewed as upgrades because the USSF never considered them to begin with. The USSF thinks their little soccer media guys can tell fans BS and that the fans will buy it. I hope that it’s a 2 year contract, but he’s probably going to ask for a raise during the final details and get it. HA!!
Lol. Why wasn’t this done I don’t know two months ago. Ok well now we know the coach. Hopefully Berhalter learns from his tactical mistakes.
“Hopefully Berhalter learns from his tactical mistakes.”
Do you really believe that?