Jay Sugarman cites Union’s adherence to ‘core principles’ indirectly led to Jim Curtin’s dismissal
CHESTER — Union owner Jay Sugarman Monday started out by saying plenty of nice things about Jim Curtin. Then, without mentioning the coach his club fired last Thursday, he said something even more revelatory.
"Everyone here is committed to our sporting strategy," Sugarman said Monday at Subaru Park. "Everyone has a responsibility to make it work, and we're all going to go to work right now to make sure we are a winning club going forward."
The lines were not difficult to read between. For all Curtin had accomplished in parts of 11 seasons at the helm – a Supporters' Shield in 2020, an MLS Cup finals appearance, two MLS Coach of the Year Awards – he was no longer on board with the plan being articulated by Sugarman and Ernst Tanner.
Their emphasis on youth development and internal investment clashed with a coach who saw the first team undergo a massive regression, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Instead of spending on the first team this winter to bring it more in line with competitors in MLS, the Union are doubling down on what Sugarman calls the club's "core principles."
That tack, to move on from what Tanner called "a pretty devastating" season, isn't what Curtin apparently had in mind, hence the parting of ways.
"It's business," Tanner said. "I have to take that decision if I want or not, and it's not personal. But Jimmy made a brand for himself. He will definitely get over this, as well as the club."
That puts to rest any lingering mystery, however thinly veiled, of why the Union and Curtin went their separate ways. It doesn't, however, resolve how the Union plan to fix things, with a roster whose revamp was neglected long enough that it now requires something closer to an overhaul. And it doesn't bridge the gap in the minds of many fans, as to how a team in the bottom quarter of MLS in roster spending can keep up in a league that includes Lionel Messi and plenty of other eight-figure talents.
On that front, Tanner professed a desire to return to the core tactics of counterattacking soccer and strong defense, two things the Union got away from as the roster's talent level increased. The drop to 37 points in 2024 was a reflection of Curtin, in Tanner's eyes, looking to play the way the Union did in 2022 with less talent, instead of retrenching on the counter-pressing style that Tanner brought to the club as sporting director in 2018.
That interpretation reveals a number of transfer misfires by Tanner to reinforce the squad, including nearly a half-dozen players brought in who have either yet to play for the first team or were transferred away without doing so. Whether or not that led to the Union's inability to grow from the near miss of a title in 2022 went ignored Monday.
Instead, Sugarman touted the investments on the youth side that have been made and will continue to be made. While others are spending $10 million on players, he's spending $75 million on a youth academy and facilities to rear the next generation of players, who can either help the first team, or be sold. It's resulted in Academy teams that have won Generation adidas Cups each of the last two years and a Union II team that reached the MLS Next Pro final last weekend.
Tanner cited that developmental conveyor belt, including for first-teamers continuing to improve, as breaking down in 2024 under Curtin.
"Our core beliefs are not going to change, but you have to adapt as the league adapts," Sugarman said. "So we are absolutely committed to our core principles. But that doesn't mean we can't respond to things and opportunities that present themselves. I think we've been challenged a number of times: Do we spend enough? Are we buying enough quality players? I have to say, from my standpoint, as Ernst said, I really believed in the group we had this year and when they were healthy, I thought we could go very deep. So I didn't think we lacked that, but we certainly lack some depth, and we count on our academy to continue to bring up players who can fill roles and become those top players in the future, so we're not going to change that strategy."
Sugarman and Tanner didn't posit Curtin as the culprit in 2024, but they did see him as an impediment to change. If Curtin getting the Union roster to consistently punch above its weight was central to the club leading MLS in points from 2019-23, then last year's struggles by him account for some of the standings plummet. It sets the tall task for finding a replacement who can do what Curtin once did.
It still doesn't answer the question of whether Sugarman meets the minimum spending power needed to compete in MLS, where even with a salary cap, expenditures are ever increasing. It merely reinforces that Curtin found himself on that wrong side of the believing in that direction.
"We have a different strategy, and it's not a conventional strategy," Sugarman said. "It's not the easiest strategy to execute, and it's not the flashiest strategy. But when we brought Ernst aboard, that was the strategy we wanted to build. Now that doesn't mean we don't need really high-quality players playing together collectively as a great team. We do, and that leads to Ernst to find those pieces, put them in place, and work with our coaches to make sure we are developing a team that can win, not just on Saturday, but every year.
"That long term success is what we're investing in. But we've still got to win every Saturday, or we need to win enough."
