List of D.C. United head coaches

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D.C. United has had several head coaches since the inaugural 1996 Major League Soccer season. The club has had seven permanent head coaches. Bruce Arena was the club's inaugural coach in 1996, leaving his position coaching the men's soccer team at the University of Virginia. In 1998, after winning two MLS Cups and the 1996 U.S. Open Cup, Arena left to coach the United States men's national soccer team. [1] Thomas Rongen then left his head coach position with the New England Revolution to come to D.C. Rongen led D.C. to another MLS cup in 1999 but was replaced by Ray Hudson in 2002, who was hired after the contraction of his Miami Fusion F.C. that year. [2]

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Hudson saw D.C. United fall to last in the table in 2002 and lose in the first round of the playoffs in 2003. Former Chicago Fire player Piotr (Peter) Nowak was then hired to replace Hudson, and led D.C. United to their fourth MLS Cup in 2004. [3] Nowak left on December 21, 2006, for an assistant coaching position on the U.S. men's national team. Tom Soehn, another former Chicago Fire player, was hired next, and was the first American to coach the team since Bruce Arena. He left the team at the end of the 2009 season. [4] On December 28, 2009, D.C. hired former Kansas City Wizards manager Curt Onalfo as their sixth head coach. [5] On August 4, 2010, Onalfo was dismissed as head coach of D.C. United and former player Ben Olsen was named interim head coach. [6] On November 29, 2010, Olsen was named head coach on a permanent basis. [7] After a string of losses during the 2020 season, Ben Olsen was replaced by Chad Ashton on October 8, 2020. [8] Aston's tenure as interim coach ended at the conclusion of the 2020 season, and D.C. appointed Hernán Losada as permanent head coach on January 18, 2021. [9] On July 12, 2022, former Manchester United and DC United star Wayne Rooney came back to DC as their manager.

List of head coaches

This list includes all those who have managed the club since 1996, when the club joined Major League Soccer for the first time, whether coaching on a full-time or caretaker basis. Games played include all League, Cup, Playoff, and Continental matches, and the win percentage is calculated from the total of games.

M = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against

NameNatFromToMWDLFAWin1Notes
Bruce Arena Flag of the United States.svg January 3, 1996October 30, 19981317415342--56.48%
Thomas Rongen Flag of the Netherlands.svg December 2, 1998August 4, 20019745844--46.39%
Ray Hudson Flag of England.svg January 8, 2002December 15, 2003110442046--40.00%
Piotr Nowak Flag of Poland.svg January 7, 2004December 19, 2006110350263417814345.45%
Tom Soehn Flag of the United States.svg December 21, 2006November 3, 200911048253717115243.64%
Curt Onalfo Flag of the United States.svg January 5, 2010August 4, 2010227312223431.82%
Ben Olsen Flag of the United States.svg November 29, 2010October 8, 202033111775213942846935.35%Interim coach from August 5 – November 28, 2010
Chad Ashton Flag of the United States.svg October 8, 2020November 8, 202053118660.00%Interim coach from October 8 – November 8, 2020
Hernán Losada Flag of Argentina.svg January 18, 2021April 20, 202212516171441.67%
Chad Ashton Flag of the United States.svg April 20, 2022July 12, 202212327163225.00%Interim coach from April 20 – July 23, 2022
Wayne Rooney Flag of England.svg July 12, 2022October 8, 202353141326618626.41%
Frédéric Brillant Flag of France.svg October 8, 2023January 10, 2024110021100.00%Interim Coach
Troy Lesesne Flag of the United States.svg January 10, 2024July 10, 2025611817267411229.51%
Kevin Flanagan Flag of the United States.svg July 10, 2025July 16, 2025Interim Coach
René Weiler Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg July 16, 2025Present

Coaches with Honors

NameNatTenureHonors
Bruce Arena Flag of the United States.svg 1996–1998 1996 U.S. Open Cup
1996 MLS Cup
1997 MLS Cup
1997 MLS Supporters' Shield
1998 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
1998 Copa Interamericana
Thomas Rongen Flag of the Netherlands.svg 1999–2001 1999 MLS Cup
1999 MLS Supporters' Shield
Piotr Nowak Flag of Poland.svg 2004–2006 2004 MLS Cup
2006 MLS Supporters' Shield
Tom Soehn Flag of the United States.svg 2007–2009 2007 MLS Supporters' Shield
2008 U.S. Open Cup
Ben Olsen Flag of the United States.svg 2010–2020 2013 U.S. Open Cup

References

General
Notes
  1. ↑ "America's one and only United". FIFA . September 24, 2008. Archived from the original on October 28, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  2. ↑ Bell, Jack (January 9, 2002). "Major League Soccer Eliminates Two Teams". The New York Times . Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  3. ↑ Connolly, Marc (January 8, 2004). "Newest coaches will be under pressure". ESPN Soccernet.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Soehn will not return to D.C. United". The Miami Herald . The Sports Network. November 3, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2009.[ dead link ]
  5. ↑ Hansen, Drew (December 29, 2009). "Ex-D.C. player Onalfo named United's coach". The Washington Times . Retrieved January 14, 2010.
  6. ↑ Goff, Steven (August 4, 2010). "D.C. United fires Coach Curt Onalfo". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Ben Olsen named D.C. United Head Coach". November 29, 2010. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  8. ↑ "D.C. United Announce the Departure of Head Coach Ben Olsen". October 8, 2020.
  9. ↑ "D.C. United Name Hernán Losada as Head Coach". D.C. United. January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
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