US Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart is leaving his post to join Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, the US federation announced Thursday.
The move, which US Soccer said was “not impacted” by the Reyna-Berhalter scandal and the ongoing review of the US men’s national team program, will deepen and prolong the uncertainty surrounding the USMNT and its coaching future.
US Soccer said in a news release that Stewart would leave on Feb. 15. The federation has retained Sportsology Group, a consulting firm, “to head the search for the organization’s next Sporting Director,” USSF said. “Working with key US Soccer leadership, Sportsology has also already begun a full review of US Soccer’s sporting department. The group will also analyze head coach candidates to accelerate the Sporting Director’s hiring process.”
US Soccer hired Stewart in 2018 as the USMNT’s first-ever GM. Stewart led a relatively opaque coaching search, and essentially handpicked Gregg Berhalter to lead the program.
Stewart was later elevated to sporting director, and led the search for a new USMNT GM under him. He hired Brian McBride for that role.
Stewart’s initial contract ran through 2022, but this past summer, months prior to the 2022 World Cup, he signed a contract extension through 2026. In the aftermath of the World Cup, at which the US advanced to the Round of 16, official statements from US Soccer framed Stewart as the one leading a broad review of the USMNT program.
That review has now taken an uncertain turn.