St. Louis CITY SC have parted ways with head coach Bradley Carnell, the club announced Monday.
Technical director John Hackworth takes over as interim coach, as the club begins the search for a permanent replacement.
“Given Bradley’s many contributions to the club, this was not an easy decision,” sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said in a release. “Unfortunately, based on our Year 2 results to date, we believe a coaching change is in the best interest of the club as we regroup and look to improve both our performance and our results.”
Carnell's tenure
Carnell was named head coach of St. Louis a year before their historic inaugural 2023 MLS season that saw them break several expansion club records en route to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Their 56-point haul (17W-12L-5D record) was one point short of LAFC's record regular-season total for an expansion club, set in 2018.
St. Louis have failed to replicate their initial success in 2024, sitting in 12th place in the West, nine points out of the conference's ninth and final playoff spot. CITY are winless in their last nine matches, most recently blowing a two-goal lead in Saturday's 4-3 loss at the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Carnell, a former New York Red Bulls assistant coach and interim manager, departs with a 20W-10L-15D league record with St. Louis.
“On behalf of everyone at CITY SC, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Bradley for his time with the club. He was integral to the club’s success during our historic first campaign," club president and GM Diego Gigliani said. “Bradley, Claudia and their family embraced St Louis and we wish them nothing but the best moving forward."
What's next?
St. Louis will be managed on an interim basis by Hackworth, who served two years as head coach and GM, and two-and-a-half years as an assistant, with the Philadelphia Union between 2010-2014. He also coached the U.S. men's U17 team, and served as an assistant with the USMNT senior side, on two separate occasions.
Hackworth won the 2018 USL championship as head coach and sporting director of Louisville City FC, while also leading CITY affiliate club St Louis CITY2 to the MLS NEXT Pro final in 2022 before joining Carnell's staff.
Hackworth's interim stint begins on July 3, when CITY host the San Jose Earthquakes at CITYPARK (8:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
