US Soccer announced today that head coach Jill Ellis will be stepping down in early October. Ellis will be a part of the Victory Tour that US Soccer has created as friendly games across the US celebrating the World Cup win.
Ellis has been with the team since May 16, 2014 and had an overall record of 102-7-18. Her biggest accomplishments as a head coach were back-to-back Women’s World Cup wins in 2015 and 2019. The first coach to ever win two World Cup titles on the women’s side, let alone back-to-back.
Once Ellis has officially finished as the head coach in October she will remain become an ambassador for US Soccer for at least the next year to help promote the game at various events.
In US Soccer’s statement, Ellis said she believed this was the timeframe she wanted when she took the job in 2014.
When I accepted the head coaching position this was the timeframe I envisioned. The timing is right to move on and the program is positioned to remain at the pinnacle of women’s soccer. Change is something I have always embraced in my life and for me and my family this is the right moment.”
Along with the two World Cup titles Ellis also won six other tournaments in her as the head coach including both CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Championships and two SheBelieves Cups.
Perhaps the most shocking part of this announcement is that Ellis will not stay on to coach for the Olympics in 2020. While Ellis did guide the USWNT to two World Cup titles, she was not able to win any Olympic medals. Her lone Olympics under her tenure actually produced the worst finish for the UWSNT in any major tournament, exiting in the quarterfinals.
US Soccer is still searching for the team’s first ever general manager and then a search to find the ninth head coach in the United States Women’s Soccer history will commence.