Early coaching changes caught TFC's Robin Fraser be surprise
The recent exits of Peter Vermes and Laurent Courtois served as a reminder of the constant pressures facing MLS head coaches.
It’s less than two months into the 2025 MLS regular season and two head coaches have already been relieved of their duties.
On March 24, Laurent Courtois became the league’s first bench boss to bite the dust when he was fired by CF Montreal, officially ending the Frenchman’s time at the helm after only 14 months. A week later, Peter Vermes shockingly left Sporting Kansas City by mutual consent.
Both managers exited with their respective clubs stuck in a rut. Montreal sported an 0-4-1 record at the time of Courtois’ dismissal. It was also sitting dead last in the Eastern Conference with a league-worst minus-seven goal differential, and hadn’t scored since a season-opening 3-2 loss to Atlanta United on Feb. 22. Kansas City was winless through its opening six contests of the campaign after finishing third-from-the bottom in the overall table in 2024.
Their respective departures early in the year with so much football left to be played served as a cruel reminder of the lack of job security that head coaches face every day. Courtois’ dismissal came after he guided Montreal to a playoff berth in 2024 in his first season in charge, while Vermes left Kansas City after first taking over the coaching reins in 2009.
