Nashville SC have extended the contract of head coach Gary Smith and his coaching staff through the 2025 MLS season, the club announced Thursday.
Smith has led Nashville to three straight Audi MLS Cup Playoffs since their MLS introduction in 2020, a feat accomplished only by four other expansion clubs in league history. The 54-year-old Englishman has a 38W-23L-39D record with Nashville.
"We are thankful of the leadership that Gary and his coaching staff have provided, and excited to reward them as they continue to lead us into the future," Nashville general manager Mike Jacobs said in a release.
"Finishing joint fourth place in the Western Conference standings last season after the challenging travel and starting the season with the first eight matches on the road is no small feat, and we appreciate the direction that Gary, his coaching staff, and the players are heading in."
Last year, Smith helped Nashville set a club record for wins (13) and they earned 1.38 points per game during their lengthy opening road stretch, necessitated by GEODIS Park not opening until May 2022.
Under Smith’s leadership, Nashville’s marquee Designated Players have thrived as well. Star attacker Hany Mukhtar is the reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP and Golden Boot presented by Audi winner, while US men’s national team center back Walker Zimmerman won MLS Defender of the Year honors in 2020 and 2021.
"The team and city hold a special place in my heart, bonds that have been forged through some challenging times in our early history, so I couldn’t be happier to be extending my time here and helping the push towards bigger and better things on the field," Smith said.
Smith’s first head coaching opportunity came with the Colorado Rapids in the 2008 MLS season, then on an interim basis. He eventually earned the full-time job and won an MLS Cup title with Colorado in 2010.
Nashville, back in the Eastern Conference for 2023, open the new campaign on Saturday by hosting New York City FC (4:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, FOX).
