Josh Wolff scored after Austin FC was eliminated from the MLS playoff race

Austin FC enters its fifth season with a new coach.

The club released Josh Wolff on Sunday following Saturday night's 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy. Austin FC has been eliminated from MLS playoff contention and will miss the postseason for the second straight season.

Wolff, 47, is the only coach in Austin FC history, having been hired to lead the team when it was announced as an expansion franchise in 2019. It was his first head coaching job after stints as an assistant with DC United, Columbus and the USA Men's National Team.

He spent four seasons at the helm, finishing with a record of 45-60-30. In 2022, he led the Verde & Black to a second-place finish in the Western Conference and an appearance in the postseason conference finals, but the club has struggled the past two seasons.

The numbers collapsed in the second half of 2023, including a ten-game winning streak in all competitions from late July to September. Austin FC only scored three points in league play and ultimately finished in 12th place in the West. This season, Austin FC stumbled again, all but eliminated from the playoff race after a 1-0 home loss to the Houston Dynamo on September 21, which left the team seven points from last with four games remaining Playoff spot was away.

With the hiring of sporting director Rodolfo Borrell in July 2023, the clock began ticking for Wolff.

A disastrous offseason before the start of this year included the resignation of former athletic director Claudio Reyna, who was embroiled in a controversy with former U.S. men's national team coach Gregg Berhalter, and several lackluster player signings left the club in poor shape back.

Wolff held the role of both coach and sports director for the first six months of 2023 until Borrell was hired.

Whether the club's failures over the last two seasons are due to poor personnel signings – former designated player Emiliano Rigoni was a bust and expensive striker Gyasi Zardes wasn't much better – or to subpar coaching from Wolff is up for debate.

As usual, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

Wolff hasn't had a great or strong roster to work with over the last two seasons, but he also twice failed to clear the low hurdle of qualifying for the playoffs in a Western Conference in which 64% of teams reach the postseason. That was probably why Austin FC owner Anthony Precourt ultimately decided to part ways.

It's going to be an interesting offseason for the Verde & Black in many ways, but we should know who the club's new coach is by Halloween. With Borrell having a background at European heavyweights Barcelona, Liverpool and Manchester City, don't be surprised if Austin FC's next coach comes from Europe or from those clubs' coaching staffs.

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