WHAT HAPPENED
The San Diego Wave announced on Monday that former U.S. men's national team legend Landon Donovan's coaching tenure with the club is over. Donovan was appointed as interim manager in August, and only led the Wave to two wins in his 10 matches as manager.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Donovan was hired after the club fired Casey Stoney, and was tasked with turning things around for the club, which as that point had just three wins in 16 games. The Wave failed to advance to the NWSL playoffs, and finished the season in 10th place with an overall record of 6-13-17.
It was a stunning fall from last season, in which the Wave were top of the NWSL standings built off of a core that featured USWNT legend Alex Morgan, superstar Naomi Girma, and rising young star Jaedyn Shaw. Despite having that core together for most of the 2024 season, San Diego couldn't replicate similar success.
This was Donovan's second turn as a manager. He previously spent two years coaching the now defunct USL San Diego Loyal franchise. He had a mixed spell with the Loyal, coaching to a 45.8 percent win rate in charge.
WHAT THE WAVE SAID
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE WAVE
The club said in a press release that they are nearing the final stages of their search for a permanent head coach.