US Soccer Hires British Executive Matt Crocker as Sporting Director

Matt Crocker intends to focus on leadership, style of play and team identity in his search for a U.S. men's soccer coach, but deflected about whether he will consider retaining Gregg Berhalter or look at Jesse Marsch.

“Gregg has done a fantastic job,” Crocker said Tuesday after the U.S. Soccer Federation announced his hiring as sporting director. “I intend to to follow up with a number of candidates, both internally within the organization and externally.”

Crocker will start the job on Aug. 2 but will begin the coach search process immediately, the USSF said. The men's coaching job has been uncertain since Berhalter was pushed aside during an investigation that developed from a feud with the Reyna family. Berhalter led the U.S. to the second round of last year's World Cup, and his contract expired Dec. 31.

Then assistant Anthony Hudson was appointed interim coach on Jan. 4 after the USSF said it was investigating a three-decade-old domestic violence incident involving Berhalter and the woman who later became his wife — the college roommate of Danielle Egan Reyna. Reyna is a former U.S. women’s player who is the wife of former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna and the mother of current American midfielder Gio Reyna. An outside law firm said in March that Berhalter did not improperly withhold information, and the USSF said he remained a candidate to stay as coach.

On Tuesday, Crocker spoke of Berhalter in the past tense.

“What I see from the current team is an aggressive, a forward-thinking, a fearless team that went to the World Cup and did some great stuff. And I’m really, really keen to make sure that we produce a coach that can replicate and continue to drive forward some of those some of those behaviors,” Crocker said. "Clearly, there’s been some great foundations put in place by Gregg and by Anthony around the style, and we want to continue to evolve that style of play.”

Crocker believes organization and psychology are important for a national team coach, who has limited training time with players.

“It would be remiss just to go for a coach who was a tactical genius,” he said.

Crocker, 48, has been director of football for Southampton since February 2020. Following an ownership takeover in January 2022, the club announced Dec. 16 that Crocker will leave at the end of the season.

Crocker was reported to have interviewed Marsch to become Southampton's manager in February before hiring Ruben Sellés. Marsch, an American, is former coach of the New York Red Bulls, Austria's Red Bull Salzburg, Germany's RB Leipzig and England's Leeds.

Crocker said one of his goals was “to try and support U.S. soccer becoming the number one sport in the U.S.” The Americans have an automatic berth in the 2026 World Cup as co-host.

“The team have had some great experiences and psychologically will be better prepared going into 2026,” he said, “so we are going to be a nation that is going to be feared.”

Crocker grew up in Wales and said his first coaching experiences were in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the Kansas City area.

He was Cardiff's academy director from 1999-2005, then youth development minor of England's Football League (the competition of the second, third and fourth tiers) from May 2005 to May 2006. He joined Southampton as academy manager from May 2007 to November 2013, then became head of development teams, coaching, for England's Football Association starting in November 2013 before returning to Southampton.

Crocker replaces Earnie Stewart, who as general manager recommended the hiring of Berhalter.

Stewart was elevated to sporting director in August 2019 and left Feb. 15 to become PSV Eindhoven’s director of football. USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone said 10 candidates were identified, of which seven were interviewed. She said the other two finalists were people of diversity.

Crocker said he wasn't sure whether he will fill the job of men's general manager Brian McBride, who quit in January.