List of MLS Cup winning head coaches
The list of MLS Cup winning head coaches includes five head coaches who have won multiple MLS Cup titles — Bruce Arena, who has won MLS Cup five times; and Sigi Schmid, Frank Yallop, Dominic Kinnear and Brian Schmetzer, who have each won it twice.
To date, two head coaches have led two different clubs to win the MLS Cup: Sigi Schmid (with Los Angeles Galaxy in 2002 and Columbus Crew in 2008) and Bruce Arena (with D.C. United in 1996 and 1997 and LA Galaxy in 2011, 2012 and 2014).
Only one head coach has won the playoffs as both a player and head coach: Piotr Nowak, who played for Chicago Fire during their 1998 MLS Cup title (in which he was named the Man of the Match), and subsequently led D.C. United as a coach to their fourth MLS Cup title in 2004. The next closest head coaches to such an achievement are Dominic Kinnear and Greg Vanney. Kinnear was on the Colorado Rapids squad that lost the 1997 MLS Cup final; however, he led Houston Dynamo to two straight MLS Cup titles in 2006 and 2007. Vanney was on the LA Galaxy roster that finished as runners-up in 1996 and 2001, and coached Toronto FC to their victory in 2017.
Winning head coaches
Coaches with multiple MLS Cup victories
Wins | Head coach | Team(s) won with (years) | Coaching career |
---|---|---|---|
5 | Bruce Arena | D.C. United (1996, 1997) Los Angeles Galaxy (2011, 2012, 2014) |
1996–1998, 2006–2016, 2019–present |
2 | Sigi Schmid | Los Angeles Galaxy (2002) Columbus Crew (2008) |
1999–2004, 2006–2018 |
Frank Yallop | San Jose Earthquakes (2001, 2003) | 2001–2003, 2006–2015 | |
Dominic Kinnear | Houston Dynamo (2006, 2007) | 2004–2018 | |
Brian Schmetzer | Seattle Sounders FC (2016, 2019) | 2016–present |
By nationality
Nation | Head Coaches | Total |
---|---|---|
10 | 16 | |
1 | 2 | |
1 | 2 | |
1 | 1 | |
1 | 1 | |
1 | 1 | |
1 | 1 | |