The Orlando Pride have fired Seb Hines as head coach with eight games remaining in the NWSL season and the team in 12th place. Assistant coach Yolanda Thomas will serve as interim head coach.
Hines was the coach of the Pride for its dominant 2024 season, when Orlando won the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship while setting records at the time for most points, wins and clean sheets in a season. Orlando started that season unbeaten through 23 games.
The Pride narrowly fell to eventual champion Gotham FC in last year’s semifinals, but they have struggled this season.
This year, the Pride have struggled to score goals outside of forward Barbra Banda, whose 13 strikes account for half of the team total. Orlando is currently five points outside of the playoff positions and have played more games than several teams immediately ahead of them after losing 2-1 to the Utah Royals on Saturday.
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“We want to express our gratitude to Seb for the dedication, leadership and professionalism he brought to the Club during his time with us,” Orlando VP of soccer operations and general manage Caitlin Carducci said in a statement. “He will always have a special place in our history for helping lead the Pride to levels it had never reached before.
“However, as we look toward the Club’s long-term vision and future objectives, we believe that this is the appropriate time for a leadership change. We are grateful for all that Seb has contributed and wish him nothing but success in the next chapter of his career.”
Carducci is in her first year with the Pride after taking over last offseason. She replaced Haley Carter, who left for a similar role with the Washington Spirit.
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Hines had been with the organization for over a decade as a player and then a coach. He played for Orlando City, the MLS team that shares ownership with the Pride, from 2015-2017 before shifting into assistant coaching roles after retiring.
Hines first joined head coach Tom Sermanni’s staff in 2018 as a volunteer assistant coach before becoming an assistant under several other coaches. He took over as an interim coach in 2022 before assuming the full-time role, becoming the first full-time Black head coach in the NWSL.
In 2024, Hines was named the NWSL Coach of the Year for leading Orlando to its historic double-winning season, a miraculous turnaround from years prior that saw the Pride finish in last place and set a record for most goals conceded in 2019.
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“Seb leaves an undeniable legacy with the Pride,” Orlando Pride owner Mark Wilf said in a statement. “His commitment to our players, his staff and this club helped deliver some of the most important moments in our history. Beyond the results, he helped establish a culture that elevated expectations for what this organization could achieve. We are thankful for everything Seb has contributed and wish him and his family the very best moving forward.”
The team announced that goalkeeper coach Paul Crichton, who had been with the club since 2023, is also departing.
