B. J. Callaghan

Last updated

B. J. Callaghan
B. J. Callaghan Revolution Nashville 6.25.25-056.jpg
Callaghan in 2025
Personal information
Full name Brian Joseph Callaghan II [1]
Date of birth (1981-07-01) July 1, 1981 (age 44) [2]
Place of birth Ventnor City, New Jersey, United States
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Nashville SC (head coach)
Youth career
–1999 Holy Spirit Spartans
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1999–2002 Ursinus Bears
Managerial career
2003 Ursinus Bears (assistant)
2004–2005 Saint Joseph's Hawks (women; assistant)
2006–2007 Villanova Wildcats (women; assistant)
2008–2012 Villanova Wildcats (assistant)
2014–2019 Philadelphia Union (assistant)
2019–2024 United States (assistant)
2023 United States (interim)
2024– Nashville SC

Brian Joseph Callaghan II (born July 1, 1981) is an American professional soccer coach and former goalkeeper who is the head coach of Major League Soccer club Nashville SC. He was formerly an assistant and the interim head coach of the United States men's national soccer team.

Contents

Playing career

Callaghan was a collegiate soccer player at Ursinus College, where he played as a goalkeeper, making 250 career saves. By the end of his final season he had the fourth highest amount of saves in the history of the college's soccer program. [3] He was the captain of the team in the 2002 season. [4]

Coaching career

After graduation, Callaghan was an assistant coach at his alma mater for one year and had been the coach of the FC Delco Tarheels before joining the staff at Saint Joseph's University, where he was the assistant coach of the women's soccer program for two seasons. In 2006, he became the top assistant coach of the women's soccer program of Villanova University, where his grandfather, Jack Kraft, had been the men's basketball head coach for over a decade and led the Wildcats to the 1971 national championship game. [4] Callaghan joined the staff of the university's men's soccer program as an assistant coach under Tom Carlin in 2008, [5] and was later promoted to associate head coach of the Wildcats in 2010. [6]

While at Villanova, Callaghan met Jim Curtin, a Wildcats standout from 1997 to 2000 who was a volunteer assistant. Following Curtin's eventual hiring by the Major League Soccer club Philadelphia Union as a member of the club's academy staff, Callaghan was also hired in 2012 as an academy coach while he was continuing to be an associate head coach at Villanova. Curtin alongside Callaghan guided the Union U-17's to the 2012 Generation Adidas Cup trophy. [7] Callaghan went on to leave Villanova to work full-time for the Union in 2013 following Curtin's promotion as the first team assistant coach. Callaghan was later one of Curtin's initial hires after the latter's appointment to interim head coach and later to permanent head coach after the firing of John Hackworth.

Callaghan remained with the Union through 2018, before joining the United States men's national team as an assistant coach and strategy analyst under Gregg Berhalter in January 2019. [8] After Berhalter's contract expired at the end of 2022, Callaghan stayed with the program following Anthony Hudson's promotion from assistant coach to interim head coach.

On May 30, 2023, U.S. Soccer announced that Callaghan would succeed Hudson as interim head coach of the men's national team. [9] In June 2023, U.S. Soccer re-appointed Berhalter as head coach and announced that Callaghan's stint as interim head coach will conclude after the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. [10] He made his debut as head coach on June 15 against rivals Mexico in the semi-finals of the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals. The United States won 3–0 and Callaghan became the first coach of the men's national soccer team to win on their debut against Mexico since David Gould in the final round of 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification. [11] [12] The team went on to defeat Canada in the tournament final three days later. [13]

On July 3, 2024, Callaghan was hired by Major League Soccer club Nashville SC as their head coach. [7] He is the club's second head coach in its history after Gary Smith, who was fired on May 16 and replaced by an interim coach. Callaghan officially joined Nashville SC on July 22, 2024, in preparation of the 2024 Leagues Cup. [14]

Coaching statistics

As of match played 4 October 2025
Coaching record by team and tenure
TeamFromToRecord
GWDLWin %
United States (interim)May 30, 2023July 12, 20237430057.14
Nashville SC July 22, 2024present4924817048.98
Total56281117050.00

Honors

United States

Nashville SC

Personal life

Raised in Ventnor City, New Jersey, Callaghan played prep soccer at Holy Spirit High School. [16]

Callaghan graduated from Ursinus College in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in economics and business administration. [7] He was reportedly working on a Master of Education degree at Saint Joseph's University in 2006. [4]

He is married to Ursinus alumna Leigh Maggi Callaghan who also graduated in 2003. [17]

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: USA" (PDF). FIFA. December 18, 2022. p. 31. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  2. ↑ "2022 USMNT Coaching Staff". 2022 U.S. Men's National Team Media Guide. Chicago: United States Soccer Federation. 2022. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Ursinus College Men's Soccer Career Records (updated through 2019 season)" (PDF). Ursinus Bears . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "B.J. Callaghan Added to Wildcat Coaching Staff". Villanova University. May 30, 2006.
  5. ↑ "Callaghan Joins Men's Soccer Staff". Villanova University. June 11, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Five Things To Know About USMNT Head Coach B.J. Callaghan". U.S. Soccer.
  7. 1 2 3 "Nashville Soccer Club Appoints U.S. Men's National Team Assistant Coach B.J. Callaghan As Head Coach" (Press release). Nashville SC. July 3, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  8. ↑ "U.S. Soccer Names Initial Members of U.S. MNT Technical Staff". United States Soccer Federation. January 16, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  9. ↑ "USMNT coaching change: B.J. Callaghan named interim coach ahead of Nations League as Anthony Hudson departs". CBSSports.com. May 30, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Gregg Berhalter Chosen To Lead U.S. Men's National Team To 2026 FIFA World Cup". U.S. Soccer. June 16, 2023.
  11. ↑ Bonn, Kyle (June 12, 2023). "Who is USMNT coach? BJ Callaghan new men's USA soccer national team manager for Nations League, Gold Cup". The Sporting News . Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  12. ↑ Goff, Steven (June 16, 2023). "Christian Pulisic scores twice to lift U.S. to contentious win over Mexico". The Washington Post . Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  13. ↑ Edwards, Andy (June 20, 2023). "USMNT defeats Canada, wins second-straight Nations League title". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  14. ↑ Shames, Jacob (July 3, 2024). "Nashville SC hires BJ Callaghan, US Men's National Team assistant, as coach". The Tennessean . Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  15. ↑ "U.S. beats Canada to win Nations League as Balogun opens account". ESPN. June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  16. ↑ Tannewald, Jonathan. "Ex-Union assistant B.J. Callaghan to serve as interim USMNT coach this summer", The Philadelphia Inquirer , May 30, 2023. Accessed May 30, 2023. "Top assistant B.J. Callaghan, a Ventnor native with many years of experience with the national team and the Union, will lead the program through this summer’s Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup tournaments.... The 41-year-old ex-goalkeeper played high school soccer at Holy Spirit, college ball at Ursinus, and worked on the coaching staffs at Ursinus, St. Joseph’s, and Villanova."
  17. ↑ Moorhouse, Ed (May 31, 2023). "A Bear at the Helm". Ursinus College.
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