FC Cincinnati General Manager Chris Albright announced today that the club have hired Pat Noonan to be the club’s newest head coach.
A longtime assistant coach of the LA Galaxy, the Philadelphia Union and the United States Men’s National Team, Noonan has earned a head coaching position with the Orange and Blue after nine years of domestic coaching experience.
“We are proud to introduce Pat as the new head coach of FC Cincinnati,” said General Manager Chris Albright. “He has demonstrated a track record of coaching success and we are excited to bring his leadership to FC Cincinnati.”
Noonan has been an assistant coach at the Philadelphia Union for the past four seasons, appointed in January 2018 to coach alongside Jim Curtin. Before joining the staff in Philadelphia, Noonan served as an assistant coach with Bruce Arena and the USMNT from 2017 until 2018. After his retirement as a player in 2013, he joined LA Galaxy’s coaching staff.
“It’s an honor to be named the Head Coach of FC Cincinnati,” Noonan said. “Thank you to Chris, Jeff Berding, Carl H. Lindner III and the ownership group for putting their faith in me. I’m thrilled to take on this opportunity at FC Cincinnati and to get started.”
Noonan reunites with Albright, the former Philadelphia Technical Director who was named FC Cincinnati’s GM in October. Albright will introduce the new FC Cincinnati Head Coach at TQL Stadium in a press conference on Tuesday, December 14 at 2:30 PM. The event will be livestreamed on the club’s social media and on FCCincinnati.com.
“I want to welcome Pat to FC Cincinnati,” Lindner, FC Cincinnati CEO and Controlling Owner, said. “The search for the next head coach focused on candidates who had domestic coaching experience, had thrived in winning environments, and would be aligned in our vision for FC Cincinnati. I believe we have found the best candidate for the job. We eagerly await Pat and his family joining us.”
“Chris led a detailed and sweeping search for the club’s next coach,” said FC Cincinnati President Jeff Berding. “We had a number of incredibly talented and qualified candidates, and I want to offer my congratulations to Pat. I look forward to our future with him as our head coach.”
Noonan is the sixth head coach in FC Cincinnati’s MLS History and the seventh all-time, dating back to the club’s United Soccer League seasons from 2016-18. He has signed a multiyear deal with the club.
ABOUT PAT NOONAN
Born in Ballwin, Missouri, just outside of St. Louis, Noonan was a two-time All-American at Indiana University. He scored 48 goals in 91 college matches, and he was drafted ninth overall by the New England Revolution in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft. That began a 10-year playing career, where he was runner-up for Rookie of the Year in 2003, and in 2004, he finished in a tie for MLS Scoring Champion. He was named to the MLS All-Star team in 2004 as well.
During his MLS playing career, Noonan won MLS Cup twice, once with the Columbus Crew in 2008 and again with the LA Galaxy in 2012. He won back-to-back Supporters Shields with the Crew in 2008 and 2009, and he lifted the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup three times—in 2007 with the Revs, and then in back-to-back seasons with Seattle Sounders FC in 2010 and 2011.
Internationally, Noonan earned 15 caps for the U.S. Men’s National Team, scoring one goal and winning the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He ended his playing career in 2012 with the LA Galaxy and immediately began his coaching career, becoming an assistant in 2013 for former USMNT boss and 2021 Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year Bruce Arena. He was with the Galaxy as an assistant until Arena took the USMNT head coaching position in 2017, and Noonan joined him. In January of 2018, he was named an assistant coach with the Union, where he has coached for the last four seasons.
The Pat Noonan era will begin at TQL Stadium when the club hosts D.C. United in the home opener on March 5. Tickets are currently available through Season Ticket Memberships. Fans can get the best tickets at the best price to the best matches all season long, including the home opener, by purchasing season tickets at fccincinnati.com/tickets or by calling 513-977-KICK, that’s 513-977-5425.
FC Cincinnati begin their fourth season of MLS competition in 2022, and their second playing at TQL Stadium. For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team’s official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FCCincinnati. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team’s official mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.
