He won’t be on the sideline until 2027, but Austin FC has its new coach.
The club announced Monday that Jim Curtin will be the third coach in its brief history, starting at the end of the 2026 Major League Soccer season, taking over for Nico Estévez, who was fired last month.
Davy Arnaud will continue to be the interim coach through the rest of the current MLS campaign.
Curtin, 46, led the Philadelphia Union from 2014 to 2024, guiding them to the MLS Supporters’ Shield in 2020, an Eastern Conference title in 2022 and seven playoff appearances. He earned MLS coach of the year honors in 2020 and 2022 and has a coaching record of 176-133-111 across all competitions.
“Jim Curtin is 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,” Austin FC owner Anthony Precourt said in a club statement. “Throughout his career, Jim has consistently demonstrated the leadership, character, and competitive excellence required to build winning teams and strong club cultures.”
Though Austin FC also currently doesn’t have a sporting director after firing Rodolfo Borrell at the same time it dismissed Estévez, and it’s an odd move to hire the coach before the sporting director, Precourt noted that the club didn’t want to “risk missing the opportunity to add a leader of Jim’s caliber.”
It’s also strange that Curtin won’t take over for another five months. The club’s statement noted he has “existing obligations.” Inquiries to the club about his current obligations weren’t answered at the time of publication.
A native of Pennsylvania, Curtin played college soccer at Villanova before a nine-year career in MLS with the Chicago Fire and Chivas USA. He began his coaching career as an assistant with Philadelphia in 2010.
Austin FC, which is in 14th place in the Western Conference, starts the second half of the season July 22 at Q2 Stadium against Seattle.