Fran Alonso is out as the head coach of the Houston Dash after more than three months away from the team. The parties agreed to part ways instead of Alonso returning to the team, the Dash announced on Tuesday.
Alonso was hired as the club’s head coach in December, but the Dash have struggled this season, currently sitting in last place in the 14-team NWSL with a 4-5-13 record (W-D-L) and the league’s worst goal differential at -20.
Alonso has not been with the team since late June when the club said he had an excused absence, originally mentioned by members of the team as an illness that precluded him from traveling with the Dash for an away game against the Kansas City Current.
Assistant coach Ricky Clarke has served as interim head coach and will continue to serve in the role for the remainder of the season. Assistant coach Gilberto Damiano, whom the Dash announced they had hired in March, is also no longer listed on their staff’s roster.
Alonso was hired after a search led by former Dash general manager Alex Singer, which she said included input from the Dash’s leadership, staff and players. According to Houston’s press release at the time of his hiring, the search featured “an analytical and data-driven approach to find a candidate with a specific attacking, possession-based game model who put high emphasis on culture and individual player development.”
Houston fired Singer in July and has not yet named her replacement. On Tuesday, Houston announced its plans to announce a new general manager, “whose role will include the selection of the new head coach,” but did not say when that announcement would happen.
How unstable is Houston’s head coach position?
With the temporary appointment of Clarke, Houston has now had nine different head coaches in 10 years, including interims. Since the Dash declined to renew James Clarkson’s contract in December 2022 after an NWSL and NWSL Players Association joint investigation alleged Clarkson engaged in emotional misconduct, no coach, interim or otherwise, has lasted more than nine months – excluding the months Alonso was absent while maintaining his title.
Sam Laity, hired for the 2023 season, was let go after a 4-8-6 record that put the team in 10th and nixed any shot at playoffs. Assistant coach Sarah Lowdon was twice interim head coach while the Dash searched for permanent hires before leaving to join the Portland Thorns in 2024.
Houston’s best-ever season in 2022, in which the club finished fourth overall, was under interim head coach Juan Carlos Amorós. Singer told The Athletic that the club wanted to retain Amorós, but that he had competing offers from other clubs and respected that he had found an opportunity that suited him and his family better. Amorós was eventually hired by Gotham FC, with which he won the 2023 NWSL Championship. The Dash finished 10th overall that year.
—Steph Yang
(Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
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