ISI photos / Andy Mead
Nahas contributed
Sean Nahas has been named as the North Carolina Courage’s head coach after holding the interim job since September, the club announced Wednesday, Dec. 1.
“It’s a humbling experience,” Nahas said. “It’s a humbling moment. It being the hometown club and starting where I started here at what used to be CASL, now NCFC Youth, to now leading the first team into the future, I think it’s any coach’s dream, but not one that I ever thought would happen.”
Nahas guided the Courage through a tumultuous end to the season after the allegations against, and subsequent firing of, Paul Riley. Early into that role, Curt Johnson, the club’s president and general manager, had already begun to feel that he was the right hire.
“Honestly, it felt like the right hire a few days into his interim tag, with the way he was leading the group,” Johnson said. “I personally, and I think anybody that’s paying attention to the game, in our group and our club knows that that Sean has been a respected tactician, field coach, head coach, whatever, however you want to say it for many, many years and in a really good developer of young talent. … But when I saw him out on the field, in front of the players, in front of the media, in staff meetings, whatever the case may be, that leadership showed through and for me, that was really the last big check mark.”
Throughout his time as the interim, the players were vocal in their support of him being hired on a permanent basis, something that Johnson called enormous in the hiring process.
“Over the years, Sean has always been a great sounding board for players to turn to when we’ve needed supplementary information on a position or tactic,” said NC Courage captain Abby Erceg in the club’s announcement. “So it’s exciting for us to have the opportunity to fully tap into his knowledge and have him drive us forward. I’m excited to see how he establishes himself as a leader within the club and the league, and I’m looking forward to working with him again next season.”
During the season, Nahas shared that it was Erceg who called him and asked him to be the interim head coach.
After the announcement, multiple current and former Courage players took to Twitter and shared their thoughts on Nahas’ hiring.
Current Courage defender Carson Pickett was among those players, tweeting, “Congrats to a great coach and an even better person. I can’t wait to play for you and watch you lead our group. We’re lucky to have you.”
In addition to his work as an assistant coach with the first team prior to his time as interim, Nahas has been the director of the North Carolina Courage Girls Development Academy since 2004 and also has experience coaching in the youth national team ranks.
Nahas’ hiring is not the first staff announcement the Courage have made this offseason. The club announced Nov. 19 assistant coach Scott Vallow had been relieved of his duties after a “thorough assessment of the Courage’s technical staff, which included individual evaluations and performance-based reviews.”
The club also recently announced a massive trade ahead of the expansion draft that saw USWNT midfielder Sam Mewis traded to the KC Current for Kiki Pickett and a first round pick. In the announcement of that trade, Johnson was very clear about the involvement the expansion draft had in the decision.
“With the upcoming expansion draft, which allows clubs to only protect one allocated player, we were put in a position to make some difficult decisions,” Johnson said in the announcement. “It was important to proactively seek trade partners as opposed to wait and lose an allocated player for little in return. These conversations resulted in this trade.”
With the upcoming double expansion draft and college draft, set for Dec. 16 and Dec. 18, respectively, Johnson said there was some urgency in hiring Nahas.