Jaime Lozano reportedly the top choice to take over Chivas in the wake of Gerardo Espinoza’s dismissal

Chivas are already searching for their next head coach, and according to reports, Jaime Lozano has emerged as the leading candidate to take over after Gerardo Espinoza’s dismissal. The club’s front office is reportedly interested in Lozano’s profile, given his previous experience in Liga MX and his recent success with the Mexican national team - including winning the 2023 Gold Cup.

The red and whites were eliminated from the Clausura 2025 after finishing 11th in the table. Since their last league title in 2017 under Matías Almeyda, the club has gone through 11 different managers, none of whom have been able to restore Chivas to consistent top-tier status.

The closest they came was under Veljko Paunović, who guided the team to the Clausura 2023 final, which they ultimately lost to Tigres.

Lozano has relatively little experience as a coach. In fact, the decision to appoint him as head coach of the Mexican national team after Diego Cocca’s departure was widely questioned. Before taking charge of El Tri, he had only managed Necaxa, Querétaro, the Mexican U23 team, and the Olympic squad that won the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

In the race to take over at El Rebaño, there are candidates with much more experience at the club level, though none have coached a national team. These include Guillermo Almada, Nicolás Larcamón, Robert Dante Siboldi, and Ignacio Ambriz.

During the news conference announcing Espinoza's dismissal, Javier Mier, the club's sporting director, outlined the criteria for the next manager.

“The project is the club, not just one person. The coach who comes in will have to enhance the project that already exists within the team," Mier said. “We want the new coach to understand the club they are coming to. We have an important core group, and we will look to strengthen the squad to get the team to where it deserves to be. The new coach must be fully immersed in the team’s planning. Choosing the next coach must be a smart decision because it marks a turning point in the project we’re looking to consolidate.”

Lozano has only managed 68 games in the top division, while Almada has 623, Larcamón 306, Siboldi 346, and Ambriz 547.