Grading MLS coaching hires: Michael Bradley looks ready for the Red Bulls challenge, but are Atlanta United leaning too much on nostalgia with Tata Martino?

Status: Official
Why he was hired: Ronny Delia was sacked after a disastrous 2025 campaign. Martino is an unsexy pick, but he's a smart one. The manager led Atlanta United to immediate success when he took the job in 2016, and many didn't want him to leave two years later. He is still regarded by many Atlanta fans as their quintessential coach and will undoubtedly restore a sense of calm at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 

Tactical identity: Flexible, but attacking. His teams have always pressed high and focused on keeping the ball once they win it back. They are less about chaos and more about control - think Pep Guardiola rather than Jurgen Klopp's famed Gegenpress. Martino wants to have the ball and allow creative players to express themselves (which is why Miguel Almiron was so good for him first time around).

Why it makes sense: He knows the club, and he gets results. Martino is not a tactical revolutionary, but he understands the Atlanta ethos, has brought MLS Cup success to the Five Stripes before, and will certainly make the side much more disciplined. Will they win with him right away? No. But they won't do loads of losing, either. 

Why it might not work: Martino was excellent during his first stint at Atlanta United, but his 2023 return comes in a very different MLS. His managerial record since leaving the club in 2018 has been mixed, marked by struggles with Mexico and inconsistency despite the talent at Inter Miami. For all the talk of a hometown hero returning, fresh ideas may ultimately prove more valuable.

Grade: B+

Status: Official

Why he was hired: Sandro Schwarz’s firing may have been harsh, but after failing to reach the playoffs, the Red Bulls clearly felt new ideas were required. Bradley is regarded as one of the brightest young minds in American soccer, and it would not be surprising if success at the club level eventually puts him in the USMNT conversation. The former Red Bulls midfielder has learned from some of the game’s best - including his father Bob and Jesse Marsch - and received a strong grounding in the RB system before moving into full-time management last summer. He knows the club well, and it is easy to see the appeal of the defensive-midfielder-turned-coach narrative.

Tactical identity: There is still plenty to be determined. Bradley has been a first-team coach for only six months, having taken over New York Red Bulls II in June. At the time, he told GOAL that he strongly subscribes to the Red Bull ethos of high pressing and expressive football. Since then, however, he appears to have evolved, with sporting director Julian de Guzman noting that Bradley was hired in part because of the new wrinkles he showed outside that system. His Red Bulls II side was the highest-scoring team in the MLS Next Pro playoffs and went on to win the championship, offering early evidence to support those claims. Expect a 4-3-3, but with less than a year in professional management, Bradley is still very much finding his feet.

Why it makes sense: It's aligned with the Red Bull philosophy. What we have here is a bright young mind who wants to win games and look good doing so. He has played for the club, knows what it means to wear the badge, and has a steely sort of determination that will make his team competitive. The fact that he has plenty of experience on both sides of the Atlantic should help, too. 

Why it might not work: Bradley is 38 and inexperienced in top-flight management. This is a Red Bulls side that missed the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, and will need a bit of a reset in order to move into a new era. This could be one year too soon - regardless of Bradley's credentials.

Grade: A-

Status: Official

Why he was hired: To play it safe. LAFC were excellent over the last couple of months under Steve Cherundolo - who walked away from the job at the end of the season. And in Dos Santos, they have simply promoted his assistant. Dos Santos has been around the block, held a previous MLS head coaching position, and should allow for some crucial continuity for an LAFC side that came within a penalty shootout of playing for MLS Cup. 

Tactical identity: Possession-based 4-3-3, which will be a bit of a difference from his predecessor. Cherundolo got flexible with things, but his LAFC side were at his best when they played on the counter, with Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga as an attacking two. Dos Santos' teams have been more methodical and played with more obvious wide players throughout the years.

Why it makes sense: It's an unbelievably safe pick - and the kind of thing you see good teams do all of the time. Dos Santos has been in Los Angeles since 2022, and has seen this group grow and develop. He already has relationships with the players and will know exactly what he's working with from Day 1. 

Why it might not work: His record as a head coach is mixed. He made the playoffs just once with Vancouver, and even if he was working with very little, other coaches have succeeded at the club with largely the same resources. He has yet to prove himself as a reliable main man. And Ange might have been available...

Grade: B-

Status: Official

Why he was hired: St. Louis CITY SC need a complete reset. Olof Mellberg was a disaster from Day 1, and lasted until May 27 before being let go. St. Louis promoted their MLS Next Pro manager, David Critchley, to the interim job. But he didn't get much more out of the team, either. And after losing their sporting director, Lutz Pfannenstiel, to Aberdeen of the Scottish Premier League, Damet is the face of a new era. He has held a series of solid assistant jobs, most recently under the excellent Wilfried Nancy at Columbus. 

Tactical identity: Largely unknown. His influences have all played attack-minded football, including Nancy, Mikey Varas, and Greg Vanney. And during his interim spell at FC Cincinnati, he focused on possession-based football. But that was six years ago - and Damet was just 29. St. Louis have a squad built to keep the ball, but whether Damet is as expressive as his influences remains to be seen.

Why it makes sense: What do they have to lose? This is a project, and St. Louis finished 15th in the West last year. They were the second-worst team in Major League Soccer, and are in total rebuild mode after their sporting director left, too. There are some talents to work with, but this is otherwise a young team building from the ground up. Damet is an interesting manager who is overdue for a head coaching job. 

Why it might not work: They need someone to steady the ship. St. Louis have some quality, but they're also in free-fall. Even in MLS - where fortunes can change quickly - they are two years away from being real competitors. A veteran manager who knows how to navigate the ups and downs of a season might have been a smarter pick.

Grade: C

Status: Reported

Why he was hired: The Rapids had a good manager in Chris Armas, but faced a tough decision when his contract expired at the end of the season. They invested heavily to try to give the U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer a competitive squad, but a collapse in the final weeks of the campaign effectively made their decision for them. Wells is another young mind who, as an assistant, has followed a handful of solid coaches around Europe. His time at Fulham, Brugge, and Tottenham has all brought varying degrees of success, but he has been around some of the best - most recently Thomas Frank - and should provide a real energy. 

Tactical identity: TBD.

He has worked under two managers with starkly different styles in Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank at Tottenham. Wells ran much of the day-to-day training under Frank and was also heavily involved during Postecoglou’s stint. Colorado’s squad is not built to sit deep, and it is unlikely he will look to park the bus.

Why it makes sense: It feels very Colorado. The Rapids have a capable squad with enough quality, but what they need most is a clear tactical hand to bring it together. Wells effectively ran the show for Frank in recent months and held significant day-to-day roles under Postecoglou and Scott Parker, both of whom were tactically detailed operators, for better or worse. His man-management remains an open question, but his tactical acumen is not.

Why it might not work: Inexperience. He has never held a head coaching job and has little knowledge of MLS. Even the best coaches can succumb to that harsh reality.

Grade: B