With Concacaf Nations League around the corner, the United States men's national team are making another coaching change. B.J. Callaghan has taken over as interim head coach, replacing Anthony Hudson, who stepped down from his role as interim boss to pursue another opportunity, U.S. Soccer announced on Tuesday. Hudson has been in charge since after the World Cup with Gregg Berhalter being out of contract since December.
Hudson oversaw the team winning their group in Concacaf Nations League and was set to remain in his post until the Gold Cup concluded in July but that has changed now just weeks before the CNL semifinal against Mexico. Callaghan has been a USMNT assistant coach for the past four years but now will be succeeding Hudson ahead of a critical summer.
"B.J. has been an integral part of the USMNT staff during the last four years as this young team has grown and developed," USSF sporting director Matt Crocker said in a statement. "Working alongside Anthony Hudson these last five months, we are confident he is prepared and ready to lead this group in the summer tournaments. We are grateful to Anthony for the tremendous job he did and wish him success in the future."
Callaghan also has experience with the Philadelphia Union academy and has served as a first-team assistant coach under Union manager Jim Curtin. With it being the middle of the summer coaching carousel, TUDN reports that Hudson left for a club opportunity that he couldn't pass up. That opportunity could be in the Middle East although it hasn't emerged as to what club it could be.
These things do happen and with no guarantee that he'd get the permanent head coaching job to replace Berhalter, the opportunity to lead a club is not something that he could pass up. This is one of the reasons why the United States waiting until the end of the summer to appoint a head coach could come back to bite them. Top candidate Jesse Marsch is possibly in the mix for getting the Monaco role if that opens, which could provide even more questions around who will lead the team if he isn't available.
Crocker has time but this is a position that should be filled before club seasons begin otherwise the team will begin to run into issues planning for upcoming tournaments like the 2024 Copa America. Luckily, things like dual national recruitment aren't contingent on who the head coach is so the team can continue to push for more talents after adding Timmy Tillman and Folarin Balogun to the ranks.
