Nashville SC has found its new head coach.
B.J. Callaghan has been hired as the club’s second-ever MLS head coach; Nashville SC announced Wednesday. Callaghan will leave his current role as U.S. men’s national team assistant coach and will officially begin his new position on July 22.
“Taking the head coach position at Nashville SC is an incredible opportunity and an exciting next step in my career,” said Callaghan. “I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Gregg Berhalter for his mentorship and support throughout my time with the U.S. Men’s National Team. The experience I’ve gained here has been invaluable, and I’m deeply appreciative of the relationships and memories made along the way.
“While I am thrilled to embark on this new journey, it is bittersweet to leave a team and staff that I believe in so deeply,” he added. “I have full confidence in the exceptional coaching staff we have in place and know the team is in great hands. As we approach the 2026 World Cup, I’ll be cheering on the team every step of the way. Thank you to everyone at U.S. Soccer for the support and camaraderie, it has truly been an honor.”
Callaghan joined the USMNT staff in 2019 after spending the previous seven years with the Philadelphia Union. After serving as part of the technical staff during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Callaghan was appointed interim head coach in June 2023 and led the team to the CONCACAF Nations League title.
He also led the USMNT to the Gold Cup semifinals last summer and overall went unbeaten in his seven matches in charge. Callaghan remained part of Berhalter’s staff over the past year, most recently watching the USMNT suffer Copa America elimination on Monday night.
Nashville SC sits seventh in the Eastern Conference with 26 points earned in 20 league matches.
Good luck BJ. If you can get that organization going the better. Biggest soccer specific stadium in MLS with a passionate fanbase. Building up its academy system, and turning into a destination club for foreign talent is a great challenge.
i realize callaghan leaving shouldn’t decide everything, but if he’s going and the whole edifice is rotten, we already need to hire callaghan’s replacement, do them all.
after all, common sense is the bench coach should be someone the head likes and trusts. if the head needs to go then you replace the head and this job as well as the other assistants becomes just normal staff hiring by the head.
i didn’t realize when i backed equal pay for the women’s players that this would turn into a charity whose primary concern seems to be profit for employees and whether coaches’ salaries balance, as opposed to whether my team is any good at the expense level that gets the women’s team top-shelf coaching. the primary purpose of the charity is supposed to be soccer development. message i am getting is we’re gonna hire hayes for the women and chase success but meanwhile if the dingbat we hired the men for the same amount can’t get it done, we can just stew in it.
second point, i have listened to dingbats arguing about whether this generation is as talented as advertised or incredibly entitled. this is an exercise in distraction or nihilism. the question is does the coach do his job well. overrated, entitled, or not, is there any real debate he doesn’t? no. exactly. that took 5 seconds to figure out. we suck and in any other “era” or “generation,” overrated, underrated, entitled, dedicated, or otherwise, that would be enough. bradley, etc. got fired for less. this is the equivalent of the failures that sent arena and klinsi on. we did not sit around and parse how much is the team’s fault. we canned the coach on the assumption something was wrong and good or bad team the next guy could get more out of it.
short of klinsi being allowed to limp along because flynn was in the hospital, we have generally not tolerated this state of affairs. period.
if we are going to tolerate this crap because of the expense of a buyout, USSF needs to do a better job of hiring in the first place, and maybe not pick around the remainder bin when it does so. and this had better not be becoming where the driving purpose of the USSF is now making key employees equalized salaries — extraction of cash from a charity — as opposed to trying to be successful with the primary purpose of the charity — developing the sport. cause what i am watching the cheap approach to men’s coaching has resulted in barely any growth in years.
“hayes for the women and chase success but meanwhile if the dingbat we hired the men for the same amount can’t get it done, we can just stew in it.”
Hayes was hired to revive a formerly dominant power to get it back to its best. She seems to have an excellent track record and has a player pool to work with who just might get it done.
Gregg or whoever might replace him is going to have to raise this team from the lower depths of the second tier to the position of being a regular contender for serious silverware, such as the World Cup or Copa .
And , compared to the women’s side, the men’s player pool is far more suspect than their player pool. And he will have to teach them how to win, something he knows very little about.
Based on what I have seen and heard of Hayes,, if they really want to save money, maybe they should ask her to manage both the USWNT and the USMNT.
Hopefully a sign of more changes to come with out coaching staff.
The Berhalter tenure has been one of the worst in recent USMNT history, let’s be honest. 2 major tournaments under his helm and only 2 victories vs Iran and Bolivia. No marquee win of any kind vs a superior opponent (aside from Morocco in a pre WC friendly). Jekyll and Hyde performances from his teams. Lack of discipline with red cards and many defensive lapses. Generally bad in game coaching cant’t adapt if plan A doesn’t work. And this despite having nearly all starters playing in Europe.
Definitely a regression since the Klinsmann days. Let’s not forget JK got us out of the group of death at the WC with Portugal, Ghana, and Germany!! And then a semifinal of Copa with striker options being Bobby Wood and Zardes. But his teams in his first term could punch above their weight and seemed better drilled.
What a terrible time to be a US soccer fan!!
US soccer obviously blundered when they hired GB. He had failed as a coach in Europe. His resume was weak. And then once he started coaching his limitations were even more obvious. And then they doubled down after the WC… Now it’s time to remedy this blunder and try to get someone who can move the program forward again because we have regressed greatly.
He is even tired of 🍻 Beerholders BS glad he don’t have to be around incompetent Beerholder
Now do Mikey Varas as interim manager of the USMNT.
“Callaghan will leave his current role as U.S. men’s national team assistant coach”……..Hmmm, abandon ship???? lol
This was rumored before pre-Copa friendlies. They were just waiting for Copa exit to officially announce.
Lol, leaving THE NATIONAL TEAM now as an assistant head Coach, the one who is second in command of the entire coaching staff, with a world cup coming up on home soil (a once in a life-time opportunity), as someone who has been there from early on with GB…….. is leaving for a club job???? Yeah, that’s abandoning ship. No way around it.
If you’ve been a career assistant and you finally have a chance to be a head coach you take it. The key word of assistant head coach, is the assistant part. In the words of Ricky Bobby “if you’re not first you’re last”.
i agree with bizzy. he is fairly young (43) and will never have another experience like if this staff made it to the world cup we are about to host. he’d be 45 when we hosted. i think while he has this offer now, he’d have similar MLS offers in 2 years and with smaller NT in the region as well probably, to be their head and to strategize how to beat us.
based on gold cup he’ll probably be fairly average when he gets MLS’ equivalent of a B team roster.
and while some poorly paid college assistant might need an improved income, i am sure US coaches do fine. and in 2 years you cash in.
nah, my guess is a directional difference with GB or he was concerned if GB makes it to the promised land.
Nah an assistant coach for the National team, in a World Cup, on home soil, with about 2 years to go (again to a World Cup) is much more important and better for a coach’s resume and pedigree……than an MLS Team. This move alone shows how dysfunctional USSF and the national team are. Coaching staff members are abandoning the program and all the so call work done with players……with 2 years left to a world Cup…….AT A TIME WHEN EVERYTHING IS IN DISARRAY (fubar). Yeah that’s abandoning ship
” i think while he has this offer now, he’d have similar MLS offers in 2 years and with smaller NT in the region as well probably, to be their head and to strategize how to beat us.”
Maybe in your world.
BJ is a smart guy. Unlike you he knows:
* that in the real world, especially in pro sports, 2 years is a real long time.
* that assistant coaches are a dime a dozen and mostly anonymous. If not for that great job he did in the Nations League as an interim, most American soccer fans outside of Philly, wouldn’t know BJ from a hole in the wall.
Without googling him can you tell me exactly what BJ did as an assistant for the USMNT?
How much did you hear his name in all the Copa coverage?
If he had stayed and they had gone on a long run in the 2026 World Cup, do you think anyone would be talking about BJ?
W/o googling them, who were Scaloni’s assistants when Argentina won the World Cup? Who were Bob’s assistants in 2010 in South Africa?
“and while some poorly paid college assistant might need an improved income, i am sure US coaches do fine. and in 2 years you cash in.”
Why are you so sure?
How much did BJ make when working for the USMNT?
You have his tax returns, tell us what BJ’s personal financial situation is. Is it possible that he needs the income now?
“nah, my guess is a directional difference with GB or he was concerned if GB makes it to the promised land.”
It’s coming out now that this was done before Copa America. So Gregg and the USSF probably knew before the tournament. If you get an offer to be a manager you have to compare that offer to the benefits of staying. The only benefit I can think of is that he would be in line to replace Gregg at some point. And if that were the case you’d think the USSF would have asked him to reconsider the second the Uruguay game ended.
It doesn’t sound like that was the case, does it?
Finally, it might be that BJ really likes the organization and likes idea of raising his family in Nashville. Some people are weird like that.
V: my point re salary is does he need the money. a college assistant making $30k or a grad assistant on scholarship and a stipend “need the money.” they cannot afford to be loyal unless they have another day job or get to teach PE classes.
maybe a USL assistant or MLS assistant is making bench player money and “needs the money.” but i kind of doubt a US assistant who we had to turn into a caretaker head is hurting for money. he probably won’t get much of a raise to be a MLS head.
in which case, this is a career decision. first item on his CV no matter what happens is former US caretaker who won nations league. that will still be true in 2 years. that will surely get him the same jobs hugo perez got. or the equivalent of nashville in 2 years. you throw around public notoriety but that misses the point. joe public doesn’t make the agent call. there are only so many pro teams or national teams and unlike joe blow they know who is on the US staff that they like and would hire. my guess, GB and callaghan. if GB keeps his job and we stink, while it doesn’t help callaghan, the day he’s available he’d still be that first resume line.
even if i personally think our gold cup exit and longer term struggles suggest ’23 NL was a flash in the pan. that the guy has literally never had to be a head anywhere, even when he was down in NCAA D3 at ursinus.
if you doubt me, sarachan has gotten jobs with puerto rico, USL, and is now an assistant in the israeli league. and he had every incentive to bail in 2017 and grab a head job.
IV,
“V: my point re salary is does he need the money. ………….
maybe a USL assistant or MLS assistant is making bench player money and “needs the money.” but i kind of doubt a US assistant who we had to turn into a caretaker head is hurting for money. he probably won’t get much of a raise to be a MLS head.”
If you can’t tell me how much BJ makes with the USMNT then you are just doing what you always do, make shit up and spread malarkey around.
Tell me how much BJ made with the USMNT.
Tell me what kind of debt does he carry, what his personal financial situation is.
If you can’t tell me that about BJ hen you don’t know what you’re talking about.
“first item on his CV no matter what happens is former US caretaker who won nations league. that will still be true in 2 years. that will surely get him the same jobs hugo perez got. or the equivalent of nashville in 2 years.”
We all love what he did with the NL team, not so much how he did with the Gold Cup team. Regardless, what he did, he did with GREGG’S team not his.
“you throw around public notoriety but that misses the point. joe public doesn’t make the agent call. there are only so many pro teams or national teams and unlike joe blow they know who is on the US staff that they like and would hire. my guess, GB and callaghan. if GB keeps his job and we stink, while it doesn’t help callaghan, the day he’s available he’d still be that first resume line.”
IV, Assistant coach is a different job from Head coach.
BJ’s “USMNT interim” run did not convince the USSF that he was Jogi Loew to Gregg’s JK.
If it had, then we’re not having this discussion.
Assistants get hired as head coaches all the time but if Gregg survives and BJ stays with him; 2 years down the road, BJ’s NL exploits will be a distant memory. BJ will be just another pretty face. Right now BJ can still live off that NL glow a little as the man who finally played Gio centrally. This is very much a recency bias thing.
Apparently this deal was done before Copa America. If Gregg gets canned it will not reflect well on the entire staff .
I’d say BJ made the right move in the nick of time, before the stench of Gregg’s failure taints him too bad. Maybe BJ knew something was coming…………..
“even if i personally think our gold cup exit and longer term struggles suggest ’23 NL was a flash in the pan. that the guy has literally never had to be a head anywhere, even when he was down in NCAA D3 at ursinus….if you doubt me, sarachan has gotten jobs with puerto rico, USL, and is now an assistant in the israeli league. and he had every incentive to bail in 2017 and grab a head job.”
?? You’re not making any sense. Dave stuck with the interim thing in 2017 most likely because he was waiting for something else to pop up. The USL thing did not last long and neither did the PR job. If your point is being an assistant with the USMNT means you make a lot of contacts well sure…But Dave is older and, in general, been around a lot more than BJ has and has many contacts throughout the AMERICAN soccer world, not just the USMNT crowd. So comparing the two does not make a lot of sense.
Congratulations to B.J. Callaghan! The only positive out all the USMNT mess the last few days.