Philadelphia Union’s Jim Curtin Named 2022 Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year

Curtin becomes the youngest two-time honoree after Union’s record-breaking season

NEW YORK (Tuesday, October 25, 2022) – Major League Soccer today announced Philadelphia Union Head Coach Jim Curtin as the 2022 Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year, as he earns the honor for the second time in his career. After first winning the award in 2020, Curtin led the Union to a record-breaking campaign this season that set a new single-season club points record (67) to secure first place in the Eastern Conference for the second time in three seasons.

Curtin is the youngest two-time recipient of the honor and fifth coach overall in league history to win the award multiple times. He joins the dignified group of Bruce Arena (1997, 2009, 2011, 2021), Bob Bradley (1998, 2006, 2019), Sigi Schmid (1999, 2008), and Frank Yallop (2001, 2012). Curtin is also the first Philadelphia-based head coach across the five major North American men’s professional sports leagues to twice win a Coach of the Year award in their respective sport.

• Download Photos Here: Jim Curtin being presented the award by his family
• Download Video Here: Legendary Villanova men’s basketball coach Jay Wright congratulates Jim Curtin

In Curtin’s ninth season at the helm, he guided the Union to club records in goals scored (72) and fewest goals conceded (26) in a single season. In addition, Philadelphia earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the second time in three seasons, en route to qualifying for their fifth consecutive Audi MLS Cup Playoffs under Curtin’s leadership.

Curtin achieved his 100th regular season career win as head coach after the Union’s win over the San Jose Earthquakes on March 12, and he accomplished the feat in under 250 matches to become the second youngest and 10th coach overall in league history to do so. Curtin owns the fifth-highest regular season win percentage of all MLS head coaches with at least 100 wins (54.5 percent), and he coached his 300th match across all competitions on July 16 in a win over the New England Revolution.

The 2022 MLS Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year award honors the best head coach in MLS during the 2022 regular season.

The 2022 MLS Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year award was voted on by MLS club technical staff, media, and current MLS players. Below is a breakdown of the voting results, with Curtin narrowly beating out CF Montreal’s Wilfried Nancy for top spot and Los Angeles Football Club’s Steve Cherundolo finishing third.

A full list of previous MLS Coach of the Year award winners can be found below: