OAKLAND, Calif. – Oakland Roots SC announced on Monday it would not renew the contract of Head Coach Benny Feilhaber ahead of the 2026 USL Championship season.
“We are very grateful to Benny, he took over in a difficult spot midseason for our Club and made a substantial contribution to the team during his time here,” said Oakland Roots President Lindsay Barenz. “We thank him for his commitment to the job through the last whistle of the season and genuinely wish him all the best in his next chapter.”
Feilhaber was appointed on June 2 and posted a 5-7-7 record over the remainder of the regular season as Roots finished the campaign in 10th place in the Western Conference. The former United States international produced an improvement in performance during his tenure, with Roots scoring posting a -0.54 Expected Goal Differential during his tenure having previously posted a -5.3 Expected Goal Differential over its first 11 games of the campaign.
Oakland struggled to sustain performances, however, with the side dropping 22 points from winning positions in the campaign, the second-most in the league. Nineteen of those dropped points came during Feilhaber’s tenure as the side sat five points behind Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the eighth and final playoff berth in the West.
Roots ended the season with a flourish on Saturday night, defeating Lexington SC 3-0 at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum as Peter Wilson scored his league-leading 18th goal of the season to claim the USL Championship’s Golden Boot.
“It’s been an honor to coach for Oakland Roots,” said Feilhaber. “They took a chance on me and gave me my first ever opportunity to coach at the first-team level. Thank you to all the staff and players for all the hard work and sacrifice. To the fans- thank you for accepting me as one of you. I will forever be a Root and hope I was able to make THE TOWN proud of their team.”