Austin FC fire head coach Nico Estevez and sporting director Rodolfo Borrell

The club announced the change on Monday in the wake of a 2-1 home loss to lowly Sporting KC, who remain dead last in the Western Conference even with the three points after winning just two of their first 12 games. That loss followed up on a 5-0 loss to San Diego, the worst defeat in club history.

The club said on Monday that the search for a new sporting director and head coach has already begun, while Davy Arnaud will serve as interim boss for the club's match against St. Louis City SC on Saturday. As part of that search, the club has retained the services of Excel Sports Management's executive search division, Excel Search & Advisory, to lead the process. That search will get rolling during the upcoming 60-day midseason break for the World Cup.

“We are grateful to Rodo for his tireless dedication to improving the Club,” said Austin FC Chief Executive Officer and Majority Owner, Anthony Precourt. “Ultimately, we believe this decision is in the best interest of Austin FC. We know that our fans and our community deserve a winner, and our Ownership group will continue to make the necessary decisions in order to deliver consistently strong results across competitions.”

“Nico has been a trusted ambassador for Austin FC and Austin during his time as Head Coach,” added Precourt. “We believe this team can compete for a playoff position, and given our results thus far, a change is necessary to achieve our goals of qualifying for the playoffs this year and becoming a consistent winner in this League.”   

Estevez was originally hired by Austin FC in October 2024 with the intention of taking over for the 2025 season. Previously the head coach at FC Dallas and an assistant with the U.S. men's national team, Estevez led Austin FC to the playoffs in 2025 after finishing sixth in the conference, only to lose in the first round of the playoffs against Los Angeles FC.

Borrell, meanwhile, joined the club as sporting director in 2023 after forging his reputation under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City as an academy director and then as an assistant. Prior to that, Borrell was credited with reshaping Liverpool's academy after previously bringing talent through Barcelona's La Masia. It never quite translated to Austin, though, as Borrell admittedly struggled to build a squad under MLS's salary rules.

After this Saturday's visit to St. Louis, Austin FC will join the rest of MLS in taking a World Cup break that lasts nearly two months. The next game on the schedule will be July 22, when they host the Seattle Sounders.