Who will be the next coach of the United States women’s national team? Answering that question will take a little bit of time, it appears.
Twila Kilgore, who was appointed the interim coach upon the resignation of Vlatko Andonovski last month, is in charge for this week’s pair of friendly matches against South Africa. Kilgore will continue her role for a pair of late October friendly matches against Colombia, a federation spokesperson confirmed to The Equalizer.
That makes for a timeline where the next coach could be hired late this calendar year, potentially — but not certainly — ahead of the final international window that begins on Nov. 27. Who that coach will be is anyone’s guess at the moment. New U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker is leading the search (sans women’s national team GM after the departure of Kate Markgraf) and still has a long list in the double digits.
There are obvious candidates to point to, but hardly any truly obvious matches. Whereas the U.S. job was once the be-all and end-all in this sector of the profession, there are more options than ever outside of it. Who comes next could go a number of ways. Let’s take a look at a (not at all exhaustive) list of possible candidates, and how realistic they might be:
