For 11 seasons, Jim Curtin guided the Union to a level of success achieved just once in the first five years of the club’s existence prior to the Oreland native’s takeover. Perhaps that’s why the news of his firing by the Union on Thursday sent shock waves through the American soccer sphere,

PHILADELPHIA — Jim Curtin was fired Thursday by the Philadelphia Union, the two-time MLS coach of the year out after 11 seasons and one league Cup final appearance. The Union won just nine games this season, finished 12th in the Eastern Conference and missed the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time since 2017.

The Union's trust in Curtin eventually paid off with a Supporters' Shield win in 2020, the club's first and only trophy so far. They were also the runners-up for the 2022 MLS Cup, as well as finalists in the 2014, 2015 and 2018 U.S. Open Cup finals.