Bradley Carnell Pays the Price for MLS-Worst Union’s Deeper Problems
Head coach Bradley Carnell of the Philadelphia Union reacts during the second half of the match against D.C. United at Audi Field on February 21, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
The Philadelphia Union parted ways with head coach Bradley Carnell and named John Scheer as sporting director, the club announced on Wednesday. They plan to begin a global search for their next head coach immediately. Ryan Richter, who coaches the team’s affiliate Philadelphia Union II, will be the club’s interim head coach.
Following the sudden firing of long-time head coach Jim Curtin, the Philadelphia Union hired former St. Louis City SC coach Carnell prior to the 2025 season. In Carnell’s short tenure, St. Louis City posted a respectable 1.37 points per game, including a first-place finish in the Western Conference in 2023. The Union, fresh off a disastrous 2024 season and the firing of Curtin, who had coached the club for a decade, needed a major turnaround in 2025 to return to the top of a league filled with stars like Lionel Messi, Marco Reus, Thomas Muller, and Chucky Lozano.
In 2025, the Union surprised the MLS and won the Supporters’ Shield, cementing themselves as the league’s best regular-season team. The major achievement was overshadowed by a heartbreaking second-round loss to their rivals in NYCFC.
That momentum disappeared almost immediately in the offseason. The following winter, the team was gutted. Of their top five players in the previous season, they lost three. Leading goalscorer Tai Baribo left for D.C., Jakob Glesnes flew across the country to the L.A. Galaxy, and Kai Wagner finally found himself in Europe playing for Birmingham City. With these losses, the front office stripped Carnell of some of his most valuable pieces and gave him almost nothing to replace them.
Heading into this season, Carnell was working with a significantly worse roster and missing key contributor Quinn Sullivan due to injury. He also entered the year with pressure surrounding the idea that he could only succeed in Year 1.
Even with those challenges, the results in 2026 have been unacceptable. After a stellar first season where he won the Supporters’ Shield and set the Union’s single-season wins record, Carnell has earned just seven points in 15 games, along with just one win in that span. At the 2026 World Cup break, the Union is last in the league table and winless in their last eight matches.
However, the Union’s struggles cannot be solely placed on Carnell. Since the Union’s initial founding, especially as of late, it is clear the club cares more about upholding its standard as “the MLS’s premier academy” rather than actually winning. Carnell’s firing opens the door for new interim coach Richter to bring some light into the squad, especially since they are on a long break.
This firing serves as a temporary solution to a much deeper problem within the organization. The problem doesn’t lie in the person managing the team, but in something else entirely. The Union lined up a strong squad in 2023, coming fourth in the Eastern Conference and losing in the second round by a late, last-second goal. However, now, just three years later, the only player remaining on the Union’s current starting XI from that game is their veteran goalkeeper Andre Blake.
No matter the sport, if a team cannot hold onto its talent for more than three seasons, it will never see consistent success. Curtin was able to scrape together good season after good season, even with his ownership stripping him of his key players; however, Carnell could not do this and was fired.
For the Union, the issue goes straight to the top of the food chain, the ownership. Chairman and majority owner Jay Sugarman has owned and run the club since its foundation in 2008, and the club has seen little organizational change during that time. With that being said, the only way true change will be felt in Philadelphia soccer is through an ownership change, rather than another coaching change.
So, even though the club is proud to see its former players Brenden Aaronson, Mark McKenzie, Auston Trusty, and Matt Freese participate in the World Cup, it would be even more preferable to see current Union players reach that same level as well. That’s not how the club is run, and it’s unacceptable.
In total, Carnell’s firing was justified, as 0.47 points per game is a record no coach should have; however, he was not the cause of the Union’s struggles. Until there is a culture change in Chester, the Union will continue to see this volatility between success and hardship, and constant backlash from fans as long as their ownership continues to remain blind to the real issues at hand.
Isaac Baranski
Isaac is a high-school senior who currently attends the Hun School of Princeton. In his free time, he has many interests, but most of all is his love for Philadelphia sports. He has watched the 76ers since the days of Sam Hinkie and hopes to watch the process be completed. He has also watched the Phillies since the days of Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and the great crew, and hopes to see Red October finally achieve its goal. Along with that, he picked up a love for the Philadelphia Union shortly before the pandemic, and has seen them win multiple Supporters’ Shields in person. Lastly, and most importantly, he is a major football lover and an even bigger Eagles lover. Since developing his love for The Birds in elementary school, he has made it his goal to never miss a game.
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