Earnie Stewart exit leaves U.S. Soccer seeking new sporting director, maybe new GM

The United States Soccer Federation is going through a "transitional moment" following the departures of Sporting Director Earnie Stewart and U.S. Men's National Team General Manager Brian McBride, announced on Wednesday.

The moves open the top two non-coaching positions within the national team program at the same time the current head coaching spot remains vacant after Gregg Berhalter's contract expired at the end of last year. Additionally, U.S. Soccer has commissioned an independent investigation into Berhalter following a 1991 domestic violence incident that resurfaced following the coach's decision to limit the playing time of midfielder Giovanni Reyna. 

U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone told the media that Berhalter remains a head coaching candidate and CEO/Secretary General JT Batson stated that the Berhalter-Reyna situation had "no impact whatsoever" on the departures of Stewart and McBride. Anthony Hudson was installed as the interim head coach of the men earlier this month and will continue in his role until a new hire is made.

A 'clean canvas' towards 2026

Stewart signed a contract extension through the 2026 World Cup just last summer, per the Washington Post's Steven Goff. Without a sporting director, the federation finds itself with an opportunity to explore a different outlook.

"Though we're sad to see [Stewart] go, we're focused on the opportunity to ahead for U.S. Soccer and this really does give us an opportunity for a fresh look," said Cone. "We did not plan it this way but we do find ourselves in this position and we're going to take the opportunity to really do a deep dive on our sporting side, to make sure we're as effective and as efficient as possible."

Cone mentioned the federation would like to have a new sporting director and men's head coach hired by this coming summer. The GM role, however, is unclear as the needs of the sporting department are being evaluated with the Sportsology Group consulting firm.

Kate Markgraf is currently the GM of the women's team and Cone clarified that the structure of both teams could be different depending on what each team needs. U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson will oversee all soccer decisions until the search for a sporting director is completed.

"I know this moment feels a bit uncertain," Cone said. "What it actually is is a clean canvas. We're already busy putting our plan's next steps into action. We're working with Sportsology to get into the weeds on the future of our sporting department."

Stewart returns to Netherlands with PSV

Earnie Stewart will be staying on until Feb. 15 to help with the transition to his successor. As of March 1st, Stewart will join Eredivisie side PSV as Director of Football with a contract that runs until mid-2027.

"We took our time to find someone with broad and international experience. Earnest fits this profile perfectly with his past and his current role," PSV CEO Marcel Brands said via a club release. "Therefore, we are delighted that he will join our Board of Directors as of 1st March."

Stewart played most of his professional career in the Eredivisie. He made over 100 appearances with the United States and made three FIFA World Cup squads.

Following his retirement, Stewart worked as a sporting director for Dutch clubs VVV-Venlo, NAC Breda and AZ Alkmaar before moving on to the same role with the Philadelphia Union in 2015. He joined U.S. Soccer as general manager of the men’s national team in 2018 and was promoted to sporting director the following year.

McBride chose to depart before World Cup

Brian McBride will conclude his position on Jan. 31. Before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, McBride informed U.S. Soccer of his decision and was given a short extension to help the federation transition.

"Back in October, I made the decision that it would be time for me to move on to a new challenge," McBride said in a statement. "I am sure some are asking why I didn't release this in October. The simple answer is I didn't want any focus off of the team in the lead-up or during the World Cup. I felt in order to have a successful World Cup, the focus needed to be about the players and the coaches."

McBride also stated that he originally planned to announce his departure in December but "another opportunity" rose within the federation. That position has since been put on hold, according to the former USMNT player.