Jim Curtin was fired 12 days ago, back on November 7th. After more than 10 years in charge of the Philadelphia Union first team, he was dismissed with a statement, then sporting director Ernst Tanner and principal owner Jay Sugarman explained the decision in a 30-minute press conference a few days later.

Besides that – nothing. No “thank you” post, nothing on the website, nary a mention of the guy who led this team into relevance over a decade-plus.

On Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, the Union posted:

  • spring training in Clearwater
  • Penn Medicine Healthcare Hero of the Match
  • national team and youth callups
  • unclaimed 50/50 jackpots
  • the press conference link
  • a Veteran’s Day post
  • MLS NextPro Cup highlights, lineup, QT Marlon LeBlanc
  • go vote on election day
  • some individual stats from the season

And on the website, the stories are:

  • U-19 USA callups
  • Cavan Sullivan U-17 callup
  • MLS Next Pro Cup postgame stuff
  • a charity initiative with Malamut Law
  • season ticket stuff, premium seating
  • Union academy, etc

Not to sound naive, since we know that Curtin, Tanner, and Sugarman did not split on amicable terms. You don’t get sunshine and rainbows on the way out the door when partings are not mutual, which describes this situation accurately. I was told the relationship was nonexistent at the end, which matches everything the active reporters of 2024 shared in their findings. But if the Union knew what was good for them, and had a sense of reading the room, they would have done something. Just an easy “thank you” post with a graphic listing his achievements over the years. Shit, you could put Curtin in the Ring of Honor right now, because he’s a shoe-in for the tribute. You’re talking about a guy who won this franchise its first trophy and was twice awarded MLS Coach of the Year. He managed 420 games and won 176 of them. His 2022 team finished with 67 points, scored 72 goals, conceded just 26, and was screwed out of a second Supporters’ Shield due to abhorrent tiebreaker rules. He got a Moneyball club to two Champions League semifinals, MLS Cup, three US Open Cup finals, and two Leagues Cup semifinals.


The big-game shortcomings are what they are, and worthy of discussion, but the successes alone are enough to put the guy’s name up there next to Sebastien Le Toux.

Beyond the on-field results, you’re talking about someone who was a brilliant ambassador for the franchise and for the sport in Philadelphia. Jim Curtin did every interview and every podcast, talked to every random person who approached him in Sea Isle City, and regularly gave the media useful and transparent quotes to the extent of his capability. He’s a gregarious individual by nature, but the openness was also by design, because he understood that anyone associated with the Philadelphia Union had the ancillary responsibility of growing the game in a challenging market that hasn’t traditionally welcomed soccer. That goes for everyone from the head coach, to the media, to the ticket sellers and hot dog vendors. It was a collective responsibility, and a challenging one. Don’t believe me? Read the social media replies to this story, where surely someone will proclaim that “no one cares” or that soccer is for fairy boys.

But inroads were made in this parochial market when four-for-four fans learned that Curtin was a local everyman and regular dude, plus a fan of their favorite football, baseball, basketball, and hockey teams. You make a connection that might not exist without the combination of local roots and amicable nature. I don’t know how many times he went on 97.5 the Fanatic or 94 WIP and they asked him about Villanova or the fucking Eagles, but he went along with it, and it helped build a relationship, because he was one of us. You saw the borne fruits of that decade-long outreach when, after his firing, criticism was coming from people in the Philly sports ecosystem that we would consider Union casuals and/or soccer apathetic. There were maybe a half-dozen folks that I saw who were applauding the firing, and not necessarily because Jim was a bad coach, but because they sensed he was becoming Andy Reid, a guy who had reached his ceiling, and therefore necessitating a beneficial change of scenery for everyone. Things maybe were a little stale for these fans, Jim’s substitution patterns and predictability in squad selection being the more common complaints.

It’s curious in that sense, because you wonder if Jim’s friendliness and personality shielded him from criticism, or at least muted it. Everyone got to know the guy, and when you get to know someone in sport, you’re less likely to call for their firing, or demand that they get their ass on the low block and stop camping at the three point line (Joel Embiid). You pull punches, whether you do it actively or subconsciously, and maybe that covered up some of the blemishes, like playing Chris Donovan over Tai Baribo or continuing to trot out an Alejandro Bedoya who was well past his prime. Some people say that Jim didn’t find success until Ernst Tanner showed up, but that’s not entirely true. He took average squads to three USOC finals, got the 2016 and 2018 teams into the playoffs, and the 2020 squad that won the Shield included academy products developed before Tanner’s arrival, a handful of college draft picks, and some Chris Albright and Earnie Stewart selections. He reached the ceiling with Tanner’s players, yes, but the Union were also a joke when Curtin took over halfway through 2014. It was a team five years into existence with little money, a nascent academy, and no practice fields or training facility. Prime Alex Ferguson wasn’t coaching that 2015 squad to double digit wins.

Reminder: when Jim Curtin became head coach, Nick Sakiewicz was still the Union’s CEO, Earnie Stewart had yet to walk through the door, and the payroll included one guy making more than $500,000. There were 18 players on the 30-man roster earning less than $100,000. Five figures! They made less than we did! This is a totally different franchise and totally different league in 2024, so comparing Curtin’s early years to his recent years is an exercise in telling people that apples are oranges and vice versa.

Maybe Ernst Tanner pulls some new coach out of the Red Bull system and gets this team rolling again. Or maybe they run a bunch of kids out there and realize that only Ajax can be Ajax. Philly sports fans have short memories, and if this team wins in 2025, people won’t be talking about Jim Curtin and the brusque way his tenure ended. It was a “curt” ending, not Curt Onalfo or Curt Schilling, but curt in the sense that it was rudely brief. You wouldn’t expect sentimentality from Tanner, 1) since he’s an emotionless German* and 2) because he and Curtin weren’t getting along near the end, so that’s why it’s going to fall on Sugarman and/or Tim McDermott to prepare an honor at some point in the future, maybe a couple of years from now, or, Inshallah, under new ownership. Time heals all wounds, or at least provides enough of a window to be less annoyed by them. As of this moment, the story is incomplete, and the severance too hasty to justify a proper parting. At some point we’ll get a nice reunion where Jim can be aptly received in front of a big crowd and watch his name be added the Ring of Honor. He deserves that.

*this isn’t even a criticism. being an emotionless German certainly has its benefits, namely the innate pragmatism