HERRIMAN, Utah, July 1, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Royals FC fired head coach Amy Rodriguez on Sunday following a 2-11-2 start to the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League season.
The rookie head coach’s dismissal was part of a club reorganization in the first year of its return to the NWSL, Utah Royals FC said in a news release. The Royals are in last place in the NWSL standings with just eight points in 15 matches played.
Utah Royals FC also fired goalkeepers coach Maryse Bard-Martel and announced that team President Michelle Hyncik will be moving to a legal role within co-owner David Blitzer’s office.
Assistant coach Jimmy Coenraets has been appointed as interim head coach, team officials said.
“This expansion season has been full of lessons and learnings, and we are now focused on reorganizing leadership efforts on and off the pitch,” said Real Salt Lake President John Kimball, who will oversee business operations for the Royals during the search for a new team president.
“We are grateful and appreciative of Amy, Michelle and Maryse and their efforts in helping reintroduce the Royals to Utah’s incredible fans and the international soccer community. We believe women’s sports are a vital part of Utah’s culture,” Kimball said.
“Our club and ownership group are committed to delivering a product our fans will be proud of. While we have faced adversity this season, we are focused on building a team off and on the field that can compete at the highest levels for years to come,” he said.
The Royals championed Rodriguez’s hiring in April 2023 and made her the face of the team’s “Return to Royalty.”
Though she had never been a head coach, Rodriguez was a World Cup champion, Olympic gold medalist and two-time NWSL champion. She also was the club’s captain during the first iteration of Utah Royals FC, scoring 15 goals in 51 games from 2018 to 2020 before the club was sold and relocated to become the Kansas City Current.
She won back-to-back NWSL championships with FC Kansas City in 2014 and 2015. She also spent time with the North Carolina Courage, OL Reign and Kansas City Current during her NWSL career.
Rodriguez also had a successful international career with the U.S. Women’s National Team, winning gold medals with Team USA at the Olympics in 2008 and 2012, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015. She recorded 30 goals and 19 assists in 132 games for the U.S. during her 13-year career.
The Orange County, California, native retired from the NWSL after the 2021 season and spent 2022 as an assistant coach at the University of Southern California, her alma mater.
Rodriguez played at USC from 2005 to 2008, leading the Trojans to their first NCAA women’s soccer championship in 2007. She finished her career with 31 goals and 17 assists.
Coenraets has previous head coaching experience as the women’s manager at Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the Belgian Women’s Super League from 2020-24. He went 77-26-12 in his five seasons managing the club.
