Oct. 25, 2024 13:23 PM EST

Austin Hires Former Dallas Coach Estevez To Revive Club After Missing Playoffs Last Two Seasons

By JIM VERTUNO
AP Sports Writer
FILE - FC Dallas head coach Nico Estévez looks on from the sideline during the first half of Game 3 of a first-round playoff MLS soccer match against the Seattle Sounders, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File) Lindsey Wasson, ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - FC Dallas head coach Nico Estévez looks on from the sideline during the first half of Game 3 of a first-round playoff MLS soccer match against the Seattle Sounders, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Austin FC hired former Dallas head coach and United States national team assistant Nico Estevez to revive the club after missing the Major League Soccer playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Estevez led Dallas to the MLS playoffs in 2022 and 2023 but was fired in June after a 3-8-5 start to this season. The club finished in 11th in the Western Conference, one spot below Austin.

Estevez, who is from Spain, replaces Josh Wolff, who had been the only head coach in Austin franchise history. Austin began play in the 2021 season, then advanced to the Western Conference final in 2022 before missing the playoffs the last two years. Wolff was fired on Oct. 6 with one game left in the regular season.

Estevez was an assistant with the U.S. national team from 2019-21, and had recently joined the national team again this past summer. He was on U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino's staff when the Americans beat Panama and lost to Mexico in friendlies this month.

“Our search process was extremely detailed and we feel he is someone that ticks all the boxes,” Austin sporting director Rodolfo Borrell said. “He is highly ambitious, has experience in MLS and he is familiar with the culture in Texas.”

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