FC Dallas announced on Sunday that it has parted ways with Head Coach Nico Estévez following a slow start to the year and will immediately begin a new search to determine the next head coach.
Dallas has struggled to gain momentum during the 2024 season, accumulating just 14 points and scoring 18 goals through its first 16 games. The team has the second-worst record in the Western Conference at 3-5-8.
Estévez has led the organization to the playoffs in each of his two seasons as head coach, but the team’s record has gotten worse in each of those seasons.
Dallas finished the 2022 season with a record of 14-11-9 while scoring 53 total points. The team’s record slipped slightly in 2023, as it finished with a record of 11-13-10 and 46 points.
Although the club is a little less than halfway through the season, it is on pace to accumulate just 29.75 total points through the 34-game season.
Additionally, the club’s average tackles per game have dropped from 15.9 to 13.6 over the past three seasons, according to The Athletic.
Dan Hunt, President of FC Dallas, said in the announcement about Estévez’s departure that it is “always a difficult decision to part ways with your head coach,” and the choice was not made hastily.
“A great deal of thought and deliberation went into this move as it is still early in the season. We believe a coaching change is in the best interest of the club,” he said.
“I want to thank Nico for everything he has done for the club, including some great playoff memories.”
Assistant coach Peter Luccin will serve as the interim head coach while the club searches for a new permanent head coach. Hunt said Luccin was chosen for the role because he “has been a part of this club at all levels – a player, an Academy coach, and a first-team assistant.”
“He knows our players and understands the culture of our club, and we appreciate his willingness to step up and lead during this transition.”
Luccin signed with FC Dallas as a player in 2012, ending his career with the organization before working with the academy and joining Luchi Gonzalez’s staff in 2019, per The Athletic.
He then chose to remain with the team when Estévez took over following Gonzalez’s departure from the organization in 2021.
Estévez is now the third coach to part ways with an organization at roughly the midway point of the season, with Atlanta United announcing the departure of Gonzalo Pineda and Nashville parting ways with Gary Smith earlier in the year, according to KERA News.
