Jim Curtin Takes Over Austin FC After 2026 Season
Austin FC has named jim curtin as its next head coach, and he will take over after the 2026 MLS season ends. Davy Arnaud will stay on as interim manager for the rest of the current season while the club continues its search for a new sporting director.
Curtin’s Union record
Curtin arrives with a long track record from Philadelphia, where he coached for 11 seasons from 2014 to 2024. In that stretch, he posted a 170-90-134 record across all competitions, won the Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year award twice, and guided the Union to the 2020 Supporters' Shield and the MLS Cup 2022 presented by Audi final.
He also led Philadelphia to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs seven times before parting ways with the club after the 2024 MLS season. For Austin, that history gives the hiring a clear long-term shape: the club is buying into a coach with a full decade of evidence behind him, not a short burst of results.
Austin FC’s coaching reset
Curtin becomes the third permanent head coach in Austin FC history, following Josh Wolff and Nico Estévez. Estévez departed in May, leaving the club to finish the season under Arnaud while the front office sorts out the rest of the rebuild around the coaching staff.
The timing matters because Austin is still in a difficult spot in the Western Conference. At the 2026 FIFA World Cup break, the club sat 14th with 14 points and a 3-7-5 record, a position that leaves little margin for error while the new coach waits in the wings.
What Curtin is walking into
Austin’s roster already includes Brandon Vazquez and Facundo Torres as Designated Players, along with veteran goalkeeper Brad Stuver, club-record signing Myrto Uzuni, homegrown midfielder Owen Wolff and Canadian international Jayden Nelson. Curtin is stepping into a group with some high-end pieces, but the results so far have left the club searching for structure and a steadier climb up the table.
Precourt called Curtin “one of the premier coaches in North American soccer, and we are exceptionally proud and incredibly excited that he has chosen Austin FC to continue his impressive journey.” Curtin answered with the direct challenge ahead, saying, “The passion of the Austin FC faithful is known across the league,” and adding, “And our goal will be to give you a team that fights and makes you proud every time we take the field.”
For Austin supporters, the message is straightforward: Arnaud handles the present, Curtin shapes the future, and the club is committing to a coach whose resume includes trophies, playoff runs and a 170-win body of work before he ever reaches Q2 Stadium.
