Minnesota United interim coach Sean McAuley has left the club to pursue other opportunities while the Loons continue searching for a new head coach to replace fired Adrian Heath.
Minnesota United names Cameron Knowles as its new interim head coach
The Loons are still searching for a new head coach to replace fired Adrian Heath. Interim coach Sean McAuley left to pursue other opportunities and is being replaced by MNUFC2 coach Cameron Knowles.
January 5, 2024 at 10:58PM
MNUFC2 coach Cameron Knowles becomes interim coach until new Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad arrives fully on the job from English club Barnsley FC and can conclude the coaching search. He left Barnsley last month.
A Loons assistant coach the past four years, McAuley coached the regular season's final two games after Heath and technical director Mark Watson were fired. The Loons beat LA Galaxy at home and lost at Sporting Kansas City on Decision Day, and they missed the playoffs after making them four consecutive seasons.
Knowles spent nine years as a coach with Portland, beginning in 2012. He was an assistant coach for six of those seasons. He coached the Timbers 2 team for three seasons in USL Championship league. He has been a video analyst, MLS Next Pro team coach and MNUFC2 head coach as well.
The search for a first-team coach continues. Players are due to report next Saturday for preseason training. El-Ahmad's arrival is pending his visa status. The team will train in Mexico and near Palm Springs as well as Blaine during the preseason. The regular season begins Feb. 24 at Austin.
Schedule change
The Loons' April 20 game at Charlotte has moved to Sunday, April 21 at 5 p.m. (Central), and will be broadcast nationally on FS1 and Fox Deportes.
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.
