The Utah Royals made some major changes this weekend, firing head coach Amy Rodriguez and goalie coach Maryse Bard-Martel on Sunday, according to a press release from the team.
According to the press release, the team is also letting go of team president Michelle Hyncik, who will begin “the transition to a new opportunity” within team owner David Blitzer’s office. Assistant coach Jimmy Coenraets will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
AMY RODRIGUEZ FIRED AS UTAH HEAD COACH 🚨
The former USWNT and NWSL forward leaves the expansion team Utah Royals with a record of 2W-11L-2D and is last in the standings in her first season.
GK coach Maryse Bard-Martel and president Michelle Hyncik were also fired from their positions. 😳 photo.twitter.com/MMBIgP0QCK
— The Women’s Game (@WomensGameMIB) June 30, 2024
Utah currently sits at the bottom of the NWSL standings with 11 losses. Worse yet, the team has a real problem scoring and being scored on: the Royals have scored just seven goals this season, by far the lowest in the league, while also allowing a league-high 27 goals.
However, Sunday’s announcement comes hot on the heels of a 0-0 draw against Portland Thorns, which saw the team pick up a point against a strong opponent in one of the strongest games of the season.
Rodriguez, a former NWSL forward in her first coaching job, becomes the second coach to be fired this week after San Diego Wave FC let go head coach Casey Stoney on Monday. On the same day, expansion team Bay FC general manager Lucy Rushton unexpectedly resigned, marking an unusual series of layoffs just over halfway through the season.
The Royals have 11 games remaining in the season, including matches against strong opponents such as Kansas City Current and NJ/NY Gotham FC. A playoff run would be very unexpected at this point, but Royals management clearly believed Rodriguez, Bard-Martel and Hyncik couldn’t get Utah there.
