Black Monday is usually a NFL thing, but on this day in June 2024, it belonged to the world of soccer.
First, the San Jose Earthquakes fired head coach Luchi Gonzalez after the team only won three of its first 19 games this season.
In his first year in charge, the former FC Dallas man and USMNT assistant had transformed a beleaguered side into a fringe contender—but then failed to recapture that momentum this season despite bringing in several reinforcements, including club-record signing Hernán López.
Here is a sad stat. With Gonzalez’s job ostensibly on the line last month, the Quakes players responded by conceding 17 goals in four games.
“We were hoping for more progress this year,” Earthquakes General Manager Chris Leitch told reporters in a press conference after the announcement of Gonzalez’s dismissal. “The whole idea of wanting more is evident in the reason why we made this change.”
Leitch’s predecessor, Jesse Fioranelli coincidentally said the same thing (“I think we can achieve more”) when he let go of another beloved coach, Dominic Kinnear, this time seven years ago.
This year, the current GM is learning firsthand what it’s like to truly call the shots—and to be accountable for those decisions. After all, Gonzalez was his guy after the team moved on from the strained leadership of Matias Almeyda. “This is a results-oriented business and we weren’t getting the results,” he said.
Leitch also said Gonzalez profiled better than any other candidate the team previously interviewed for the job in 2022, pointing out his experience working well with youth players on the national team and in Dallas. It also helped that Gonzalez was bilingual, which ingratiated him to the media and local community.
Now, the team turns to a Quakes lifer, assistant Ian Russell, as interim head coach. The former player has been with the team through its every iteration since winning two MLS Cups with the club in 2001 and 2003. He might not be a sexy name, but Russell has paid his dues like Leitch.
For three years, in between stints with the senior team, Russell was head coach of USL side Reno 1868. He’ll get 15 games in MLS and at least two Leagues Cup games to state his case for the full time job.
Bay FC loses first GM in team history
The timing was coincidental, but just as most fans were leaving work that very same day, the Bay Area’s new NWSL team, Bay FC, dropped a bombshell announcement that it too, had just parted ways with a key leader on the sporting side.
General Manager Lucy Rushton, who had assembled the expansion team from scratch, abruptly put in her resignation less than a year after taking the job. She did not provide any reasoning for her decision other than to say in a statement:
“It has been a privilege and honor to lead them into the inaugural season and I will always hold Bay FC close to my heart. This has been one of the hardest decisions of my life, but I believe the right one for me right now. I am excited for and look forward to my next chapter.”
Bay FC, which is currently in 11th place, said it accepted Rushton’s decision and wished her “nothing but the best.”
Unlike their male counterparts across the hallway at PayPal Park, the women of Bay FC were coming off a big win against Angel City when their leadership shakeup took place. Technical Director Matt Potter will take over her duties as GM.
Since the move had not come with any warning, there is speculation that Rushton could already have another job in place since her statement alludes to her “next chapter,” as the San Francisco Chronicle’s Marisa Ingemi pointed out.
Even though there is no inside reporting on this saga yet, it is possible that judging by the timing of the move, that Rushton has been recruited back over to the men’s side of the game.
Bay FC was her first foray into women’s soccer. Before then, Rushton had spent over a decade in English Championship side Reading’s front office before joining Atlanta United in 2016. Five years later, she went on to become D.C. United’s GM, an extremely rare post that highlights how highly thought of she was in soccer circles.
However, Rushton only managed to lead the side for one season before she was fired with the team in last place. Rather than being based on sporting merit, some people familiar with the situation say she was undermined by an uneven ownership situation, which saw the overzealous midseason hiring of Wayne Rooney as head coach. The poor roster construction and disastrous leadership of former coach Hernán Losada also predated her time.
To cap off Black Monday, the San Diego Wave also announced that they had fired Casey Stoney, their well-regarded head coach.
San Jose has seen its fair share of crazy things— from a franchise relocating to Houston to the previous two women’s teams folding right after winning championship titles. But there’s never been a day quite like this.
The stakes have never been higher. Both men’s and women’s teams have some key questions to answer in the coming months.
About the Author: Kevin V. Nguyen is a business and sports journalist. He has covered soccer for The Guardian, The Sacramento Bee, and The San Francisco Standard. Follow him on X/Twitter @KevinNguyen_89
