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Coaching changes galore in MLS: Could Wilfried Nancy return to the Columbus Crew?
18 May 2026 20:00 CDT |
5 min read
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There have already been five coaching changes in this Major League Soccer season, and Henrik Rydstrom's departure from the Columbus Crew is undoubtedly among the most notable.
The Swede's sacking was confirmed on Sunday following a 1-1 draw with the Eastern Conference's bottom side, the Philadelphia Union. Rydstrom was ultimately only in charge for 16 games, winning just five.
Two of those five victories came against USL League One opposition in the US Open Cup, the other three against fellow strugglers in MLS (Philadelphia, Atlanta and the LA Galaxy).
Four winless games, including three losses before the draw with the Union, have left the Crew 13th in the Eastern Conference. There is one league game (and an Open Cup quarterfinal) left to play before MLS's six-week World Cup break, so it is unsurprising that a change has now been made.
Indeed, Rydstrom is one of numerous coaches to have lost their job 14 matchdays into 2026. Oscar Pareja and Marco Donadel were fired by Orlando and Montreal, respectively, while Javier Mascherano quit Inter Miami. Earlier on Monday, Nico Estevez was given the boot by Austin.
Rydstrom was doomed from the start
The Crew's decline this season has been quite staggering. They were one of the most scintillating teams in North America under Wilfried Nancy during his three seasons at the club, winning MLS Cup in 2023 and Leagues Cup in 2024.
Some of the rot had already set in under Nancy last season, with the Crew not hitting the same heights as before, but at the time, you could still chalk it up to injuries. 2026, though, has been a completely different story.
To be fair to Rydstrom, he recently lost star striker Wessam Abou Ali - who had missed the end of last season with an ankle problem - to an ACL injury, but even with the Palestine international available, it never quite clicked for him in Ohio.
When he was hired in the offseason to replace Nancy, Rydstrom arrived with a strong reputation. The 50-year-old had won two league titles at Malmo and was renowned for playing interesting football.
At the time of his move, he seemed a strong fit for the Crew. He was supposed to build on Nancyball and evolve it. However, instead of building on the strong foundation that was already in place, he tore everything down.
He played players out of position, changed the system that had previously worked so well and evidently failed to build a strong rapport with the dressing room. According to The Athletic, Rydstrom never secured buy-in from the squad.
This has seemingly been confirmed by General Manager Issa Tall, who told the same outlet: "You have to look at it from three sides. One is obviously results, we have three wins in 14 games.
"Two is in the way we want to play. It’s been better now than earlier in the season, but it’s still not there. An example is last night [against Philadelphia]. Lastly, culturally it did not click. We believe a change was much-needed."
He added: "Similar to a player signing, you never truly know until they are here. You can do all the scouting reports, data analysis and then it doesn’t work out for some reason.
"With Henrik, we ran a great process, in my opinion. Talking and meeting with him multiple times, going through the data, background checks and references. Then he came here and there was just a disconnect. You don’t have to be an expert to sense something was off."
Rydstrom's assistant Laurent Courtois, who previously worked in the Crew's youth setup, will take charge of the next two games before the break. He will get a chance to show off his coaching chops, but whether he stays in charge beyond the break remains to be seen.
Could Nancy return?
Of course, with Nancy available, there is a clamour to see him back with the Crew. The Frenchman has been without a club since his disastrous 33-day spell in charge of Celtic over the winter.
However, Tall says that Nancy is unlikely to return. Despite his chastening experience in Scotland, he still has "European aspirations" and surely won't be back in MLS anytime soon.
"Look, we want to give Laurent a shot, and he deserves it," Tall insisted. "Last I remember, Wilfried has European aspirations. We want to stick to Laurent and give him the best tools to succeed."
Tall added that the Crew will look to strengthen the team with signings this summer. Abou Ali can be placed on the season-ending injury list to temporarily free up a Designated Player slot.
Other major business, though, will have to be balanced with outgoings due to a lack of roster flexibility. Clearly, it is shaping up to be a monumental summer for the Crew - and MLS as a whole.
Five clubs have already hit the reset button ahead of the upcoming World Cup break. It wouldn't be surprising if more opted to use it as an opportunity to make a change.
