National Writer: Charles Boehm<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Philadelphia Union<\/a>\u2019s 2026 downfall has been downright dizzying: Last year\u2019s Supporters\u2019 Shield winners<\/a> find themselves dead-last in the overall MLS table as the league enters its 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> pause, with just one league win to their credit after stacking up 20 of them last season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n That\u2019s prompted dramatic action<\/a> from Jay Sugarman and the rest of the club\u2019s brain trust as the city steps into a global spotlight this summer.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re coming off a six-year period where we had the most points in the league, the best goal differential, and we thought with the World Cup coming, 2026 was a year we could really showcase the Union and Philadelphia,\u201d the Union\u2019s principal owner told reporters on Thursday morning, explaining why the DOOP squad dismissed head coach Bradley Carnell mere months after he won the 2025 Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year<\/a> award.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, we didn’t get it right. A host of challenges, some expected, a lot unexpected, really have us in a place that was unthinkable six months ago, so we need to fix it, and we need to get back to what the Union have been as a club.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Philadelphia Union announced Jon Scheer has been named Sporting Director. pic.twitter.com\/h8dXM1qoCj<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) May 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Philly elevated Ryan Richter, the coach of their MLS NEXT Pro<\/a> side, to lead the first team on an interim basis and also promoted academy boss Jon Scheer to sporting director, with his predecessor, Ernst Tanner, expected to return to Europe when his contract expires at the end of the year.<\/p>\n The German is currently on administrative leave<\/a>, undergoing a league-approved restorative practices program after an investigation earlier this year found he violated MLS policies and standards of professional conduct.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve always known that Ernst was going to leave at the end of this contract year, so we think that now is the right time to create the certainty we need to move forward,\u201d said Sugarman.<\/p>\n \u201cBradley is a good coach and a quality person, and a lot of things went against us in the first half of the year that maybe weren’t in his control. But given where we are, we decided it made sense to really clear the decks and start fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n With 19 matches left to play after the World Cup pause, the Union are 11 points back of the Eastern Conference\u2019s final Audi MLS Cup Playoffs slot.<\/p>\n Yet they still harbor hopes of salvaging something from 2026, and plan to be active movers in the summer transfer window after making significant changes last winter to the core of a roster that had been among the most consistently successful in MLS over the past several years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s very, very clear that we need pieces,\u201d said Scheer. \u201cWe’ve identified key ingredients that we’re looking for in our additions, in our signings, whether that be leadership, whether that be weapons off of set pieces, whether that be a piece for our back line that is left-footed to give us versatility in terms of how we build and how we attack.<\/p>\n \u201cI can also say that we feel we need another attacking piece to give us a different look, a different skill set, especially in and around goal.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n New beginnings. pic.twitter.com\/BCIZJPfd3W<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Major moves<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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