Galaxy sign coach Greg Vanney to contract extension amid franchise-record winless start
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Galaxy general manager Will Kuntz made a decision and a promise on coach Greg Vanney’s future after the team won its sixth MLS Cup last December. And he wasn’t deterred by the team’s winless start this season.
Kuntz made good on that pledge Friday, announcing Vanney had agreed to a three-year contract extension that would keep him with the Galaxy through the 2028 season. Financial terms of the deal were not announced but the Athletic’s Paul Tenorio reported the contract will make him the highest-paid manager without a dual sporting director title.
“This started over drinks at the MLS Cup party back in December,” said Kuntz, who declined to address the financial aspects of the agreement. “We knew that this is the direction we wanted to go in. As far as why it took so long, I think the first part was that Greg was really selfless in putting the team up himself.
“Obviously this season hasn’t started the way any of us wanted to, but I think it’s pretty clear this decision reflects our faith in Greg, and we’re not being reactionary to results.”
Tai Baribo scores two second-half goals as Philadelphia rallies from a two-goal deficit to keep the defending champion Galaxy winless through 13 matches.
When Vanney, 50, led the Galaxy to the playoffs last fall, that triggered a one-season contract extension. But the team (0-10-3) is winless in its first 13 games this season, the worst start in franchise history, heading into Sunday’s match with cross-rival LAFC.
In four-plus seasons the Galaxy are 54-56-39 in MLS play under Vanney but his 141 career wins with Galaxy and Toronto FC rank fourth among active MLS coaches and his four MLS Cup appearances trails only San José manager Bruce Arena.
“I’m excited and proud to be here and to be forward-facing and continuing the project,” Vanney said. “This is the club that I care about. This is the club that has given me so much opportunity as a player and as a coach. We just won a championship, and I believe there’s many more in our in our future.”
Although the Galaxy and Vanney’s agent, Ron Waxman, had a handshake agreement to get an extension since last year, Kuntz said the negotiations slowed once the season started. The delay in getting the deal done had nothing to do with the team’s start, he said.
“Greg’s agent has a particular style of working and so it was more about getting a counteroffer back,” Kuntz said. “But there wasn’t as much pressure on all parties because we knew this is where we wanted to get to.”
In addition to extending Vanney’s contract, the team also hired Ravi Ramineni as director of quantitative analysis, promoted former midfielder Juninho to the newly created position of special advisor to the general manager and promoted Zack Murshedi to director of team administration and player care.
The moves, a team spokesperson said, “reflect a real commitment to the team’s vision.”
The Galaxy had a magical season in 2024, matching a modern-era franchise record with 19 victories and going unbeaten at Dignity Health Sports Park. After finishing in the penultimate spot in the Western Conference standings the season before, the Galaxy tied for the top spot last season, becoming the first team since 2011 to go from second to last in the conference to the MLS Cup in one season.
This season has been just the opposite. Salary-cap issues aggravated by the team’s success in 2024 forced Kuntz to trade three MLS Cup starters and the team has also missed Riqui Puig, their midfield playmaker and assists leader, who hasn’t played since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in last November’s conference championship game.
Puig is one of nine key players who has missed multiple games with injuries this season. The Galaxy’s three designated players — Puig, Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil — have missed more than half the team’s minutes this season.
The Galaxy became the first team to lose a game without allowing a shot Sunday, falling to 0-11 after winning their sixth MLS Cup title in December.
“After you win a championship and things transpire after the championship, you’re going to lose some key players,” Vanney said. “The key thing in any challenging moments is that you have a plan and a method and a way to get out of it.
“It starts with the next game. But there’s also the next series of games, the next six months, the next year. All of those things have been a part of it.”
Vanney a defender on the Galaxy’s original roster in 1996, played 10 seasons in MLS, making 193 of his 270 league appearances during two stints with the Galaxy, with whom he won three Western Conference titles, a Supporters’ Shield and a CONCACAF Champions Cup. He also played 37 times for the U.S. national team, making the 2002 World Cup roster before being forced out of the tournament with an injury.
He began his coaching career as an assistant with Chivas USA in 2011 and got his first managerial job with Toronto, guiding the team to its first playoff berth in his first full season. A year later, Toronto played in the first of three MLS Cup finals under Vanney, winning the title in 2017.
