Minnesota’s interim coach quits 7 weeks before MLS opener

Sean McAuley give up Friday as Minnesota United’s interim head coach, seven weeks before the Loons’ Major League Soccer opener.

McAuley left to pursue different alternatives, the team said. Cameron Knowles was appointed interim coach after serving as coach of Minnesota’s reserve group within the third-tier MLS Next Pro the previous two years.

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Minnesota introduced in December that McAuley would proceed within the position of interim head coach heading into the 2024 season. However, in asserting McAuley’s departure, the membership stated its seek for a everlasting head coach “is underway.”

McAuley grew to become interim coach when Adrian Heath was fired on Oct. 6 and led the Loons to a 5-2 win over the LA Galaxy and a 3-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City. Minnesota completed the league with 10 wins, 11 losses and 13 attracts. The Loons had been eleventh within the Western Conference and missed the playoffs for the primary time since 2018.

Heath had been Minnesota coach because the group began play in 2017. The group opens at Austin FC on Feb. 24.

Knowles, a local of New Zealand, was Minnesota’s video analyst in 2021 after 9 seasons with the Portland Timbers that included six as an assistant and three as second-team coach.

Information from the Associated Press was used on this report.