Toronto FC became the latest MLS club that will begin a search for a new head coach.
John Herdman stepped down as head coach of Toronto FC, the club announced Friday. Herdman, who took over as TFC boss in October 2023, failed to lead the Canadian club to the MLS Cup Playoffs this year.
“Personally, I have made the difficult decision that it’s the right time for me to step away from the club, as the organization defines its vision for the future,” said Herdman. “It has been an honour to wear the Toronto FC crest and contribute to the growth of the club. Working with this dedicated group of players and staff has been a true privilege.
“I want to thank Keith Pelley and MLSE ownership for the opportunity, and I also want to thank the incredible fans for the support they’ve shown me both on and off the pitch. I wish the organization success going forward, and I look forward to the next chapter in my career,” Herdman added.
Herdman led TFC to the Canadian Championship Final in 2023 but struggled to find much consistency with the club in MLS play. He registered a 16-6-22 record in 44 matches in charge.
TFC finished 11th in the Eastern Conference and 22nd overall in the final MLS regular season standings.
Herdman was previously the head coach of the Canadian men’s and women’s national teams before his move to TFC.
Who are OG guys?
McBride, Jimmy Conrad, Meola, Alexi they all had stories of teams trying sneak representatives into training areas as “fans”. Not everyone was doing it but you knew which teams to watch for. They pretty universally said it wouldn’t even be all that beneficial, since most teams run pretty consistent systems from one match to the next.
Thanks!!
Um. How can this article not contain the word “drone”? That still very likely to blow up in Herdman’s face. I’m guessing the club “allowed” him quietly to move away before the explosion. It’s also better for him to be unattached.
Not being funny is this reference to cheating?
Yes. They used drones to record opponent’s practices. Pretty universally agreed that the spying program started under Herdman and was continued under Priestman. Both Canada Soccer and TFC were investigating Herdman’s involvement in the spying program and some Canadian articles I read seem to indicate a suspension is expected for Herdman for his involvement either from Canada Soccer or FIFA.
Yeesh.
Well, I guess it’s back to Middle-O’-Nowheres Town FC in League Six or so for Herdman, then. Kinda hard to feel a ton of sympathy for the guy…there’s no doubt Herdman did very well with both the women’s and men’s national teams for the Canucks, but this does put a big old asterisk besides those accomplishments, too. Is kind of a shame, though.
Q: it sounds like from some of the OG guys that a lot of people attempt to get eyes on what is going on with their opponent’s training but that Canada went above and beyond by recording with drones. Marsch claimed someone gave him access to Argentina training footage and claimed he told them to delete it and to stop recording opponents training. The sad part is both their men’s and women’s programs are full of talent, but this puts a dark cloud on those players exploits. There’s some other ugly rumors out there about Priestman and her assistant that go beyond the spying in relation to how they treated other staff. I think Herdman will land on his feet he might just have to sit for a year or find a role as an off field consultant for a year then he’ll be back on the sidelines.