"Curtin got fired!" read the text message from my mom right around the time she watches the evening news every day. Even though I had heard the news hours earlier, the text still was jarring. Jim Curtin hasn’t just been the head coach of the Philadelphia Union for the better part of a decade. He has been the Philadelphia Union in many ways. Local guy made good. Great with fans, forthcoming with the media, a sneaker head and a big time Philly sports fan. But all things - especially in the coaching world - are temporary and whether they made the playoffs or not it was likely that Curtin’s time coaching his hometown club was nearing an end.

In the email today:

1. ? Curtin Firing Sparks More Questions Than Answers

By Matt McClain

Jim Curtin, the longest tenured coach in Philadelphia Union history, is now without a job.

It’s a shocking move and a head scratching start to what some have already lauded as the most important off-season in team history.

The news was first reported by Pablo Mauer and Felipe Car with the Athletic. Tom Bogert has also confirmed this initial report as true. The club has also officially stated this move is confirmed.

While Curtin and his staff surely played a role in the most recent failure of a season, at this point it is far from clear that he is the main reason for the lack of success this past year. The club failed to bolster their roster in meaningful ways leaving Curtin with limited resources and questionable depth on the roster. Despite the struggles this year, Curtin made several mentions of the future and how the club can look to rebound off their failure.

As of now, Sporting Director Ernst Tanner is still in the picture with the club. But the fact that Curtin is serving as a potential scapegoat for the club leaves many with a sour taste in their mouths.

After all, Curtin is responsible for guiding the club to their first ever trophy win in 2020 and MLS Finals appearance. They’ve been a top 10 team for much of the last 5 years (excluding this most recent season). And Curtin has succeeded despite numerous examples of the club failing to spend the necessary money to compete with the best of the best leaguewide.

He’s been at the helm since 2014 and up until this morning, Curtin was the second-longest tenured manager in MLS after 10 seasons in charge. He signed an extension ins 2023 which, on paper at least, indicated he’d be coaching in Chester through the end of the 2026 season. He even went so far as declining interview opportunities with fellow Eastern Conference club Atlanta United at the end of this season, indicating a true desire to remain in Philly and sort out the recent struggles in performance and roster building.

But unfortunately, Curtin will no longer have the opportunity to work on solutions for a club who stumbled after recent stretches of success. The bottom line, firing Curtin doesn’t really solve the problems that caused a down year in 2024. If anything, it creates more questions than answers.

2. 🐍 What Now?

Jim Curtin wanted to come home and end his career as a player for the Philadelphia Union in 2010 but he instead ended up working his way through the organization, first as an academy coach then as an assistant to John Hackworth and earned himself the job with a strong showing as an interim after Hackworth was fired in 2014.

Now as we head toward a 2025 season with many questions about the future of the club and the ambition of the ownership group they have shown the door to the guy who was not just the leader on the sideline and in the locker room but was the spokesman for the team and the embodiment of their efforts to reach the city and the region with an emphasis on building from within.

Curtin’s firing immediately brings questions about who his successor will be here but also whether he will lay low and collect his guaranteed contract before moving on to hopefully greener pastures when the opportunity presents itself at a later date. Questions also abound about the staff he surrounded himself with.

Union II head coach Marlon LeBlanc would be the likely successor if they decide to keep the job in-house but if the intention here is a rebuild Sporting Director Ernst Tanner is more likely going to want to consult his phone contacts for options from abroad. Coaches with experience in the Red Bull system in Europe would be a more likely approach. As in his transfers, fans needs to assume that the coach will be a name they don’t recognize.

Would going with LeBlanc or tapping Frank Leicht, Ryan Richter or Phil Wheddon from the staff be a means to an end? Domestic candidates outside the organization could/should include former player Danny Cruz, who has done well with Louisville City, and a coach like Bob Lilley would bring plenty of experience and Pennsylvania ties if that were a consideration but that’s highly unlikely.

That Curtin survived the regime change when Tanner took over in 2018 was always a bit of a surprise. From the day Tanner was introduced at a press conference the feeling was that Curtin would only stay as long as the team was winning. Now Tanner gets a chance to choose the coach he wants and perhaps wanted all along. Will it make a difference if the investment in the team - something Curtin bemoaned - doesn’t change? Probably not but time will definitely tell.

3. 📺 Tweet of the Day: Fall Guy

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Curtin Thoughts?

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Oh by the way, there’s an MLS Next Pro final on Saturday night in Frisco and Philadelphia Union II are in it.

• Todd Lewis’ Report on the Curtin Firing.

• Jose Nunez recently gave an update on Joaquin Torres.

• High School soccer playoffs are in full swing in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Keep up with the latest on Philadelphia Soccer Now.

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