
<p>Former United States men’s national team defender Oguchi Onyewu is reportedly a candidate for US Soccer’s vacant sporting director job. According to sources at <em><a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/soccer/u-s-soccer-considering-oguchi-onyewu-for-sporting-director" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FOX Sports</a></em>, the 40-year-old retired player is being considered for the role. The news outlet reached out to both Onyewu and U.S. Soccer for comment, but both neither confirmed nor denied the report.</p>



<p>Onyewu made 69 total appearances for the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/nations/usmnt-tv-schedule/">USMNT</a> in the decade between 2004 and 2014. The center back started matches during the 2006 and 2010 World Cup tournaments. He helped the Yanks collect three CONCACAF Gold Cup trophies, as well. Onyewu was included in the team of the tournament for the 2005 Gold Cup and named the U.S. Soccer athlete of the year in 2006.</p>



<h5>Experience in club official roles</h5>



<p>After announcing his retirement as a professional player in 2018, Onyewu then transitioned to more behind-the-scene roles. His first shot at sporting director came in 2018 when he was chosen to lead the Orlando City B team. After just a year at the position, the former defender returned to college to earn a bachelor’s degree in international business and French.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Former United States FIFA World Cup defender Oguchi Onyewu is a candidate to fill U.S. Soccer&apos;s vacant sporting director job, multiple sources told FOX Sports. Read more from <a href="https://twitter.com/ByDougMcIntyre?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ByDougMcIntyre</a> here ⬇️</p>— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1632907954705043457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p>Onyewu’s most current job with a team was with Belgian second tier club Royal Excelsior Virton. He was the club’s secretary general for 16 months before departing the team in November. He is now currently a studio analyst for CBS Sports.</p>



<h2>Oguchi Onyewu on shrinking list of Sporting Director candidates</h2>



<p>U.S. Soccer has been without a sporting director since <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/us-soccer-parts-ways-with-earnie-stewart-and-brian-mcbride-20230126-WST-417038.html">Earnie Stewart left the post</a> for a similar role with PSV Eindhoven. Stewart previously oversaw the U.S. men’s, women’s, and youth national teams beginning in 2019.</p>



<p>The pool of potential candidates has been shrinking in recent weeks. Peter Vermes and Earnst Tanner were reportedly approached by U.S. Soccer; however, the duo both <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/peter-vermes-ernst-tanner-nix-us-soccer-sporting-director-job-20230224-WST-421177.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rejected the opportunity</a> to become sporting director. Vermes instead signed a new contract to remain Sporting Kansas City’s head coach. Tanner, on the other hand, will remain sporting director of Philadelphia Union.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Belga</em></p>


Former USMNT defender Oguchi Onyewu is reportedly a candidate for the US Soccer sporting director job, vacated by Earnie Stewart.

Oguchi Onyewu in the running for US Soccer Sporting Director


<p>US Soccer announced Sporting Director Earnie Stewart and USMNT General Manager Brian McBride are leaving the federation. Stewart will move to Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, the country of his birth and his home as a player.</p>



<p>According to US Soccer CEO JT Batson, the decision to overhaul the USMNT and US Soccer had no impact from the ongoing <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/gregg-berhalter-threatened-with-blackmail-during-world-cup-20230103-WST-414243.html">investigation into Gregg Berhalter</a>.</p>



<p>In fact, US Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone said Brian McBride stated his intention to leave US Soccer before the 2022 World Cup. He stayed on through the World Cup and slightly beyond to help the transition between roles.</p>



<p>Following the 2022 World Cup, US Soccer began mapping out a full long term plan for US Soccer and the USMNT. That includes preparations for the upcoming 2023 Women’s World Cup, the 2024 Olympics and the 2026 World Cup. On the latter, this leaves the USMNT without a sporting director, general manager and head coach before the biggest tournament in the history of the side.</p>



<p>US Soccer hired a firm named Sportsology to oversee the recruitment of a new sporting director. Moreover, Parlow Cone added that Sportsology will be reviewing the total structure of US Soccer. That could be a change in the roles and responsibilities of a sporting director or general manager.</p>



<h2>Stewart and McBride leave vacancies in US Soccer</h2>



<p>It is certainly a time of <a href="https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2023/01/earnie-stewart-departs-us-soccer-federation-and-returns-to-netherlands-to-join-psv-eindhoven" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">considerable change in US Soccer</a>, for better or for worse. US Soccer wants to fill the sporting director position so it can name a new head coach for the USMNT. As of now, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/anthony-hudson-named-temporary-usmnt-head-coach-20230104-WST-414370.html">Anthony Hudson</a> is the interim head coach of the national team.</p>



<p>Cindy Parlow Cone did not name a definitive timeline on naming a sporting director. That being said, she mentioned they hope to announce one before the Women’s World Cup this summer. </p>



<p>The incoming sporting director, whomever that may be, will be responsible for naming the next USMNT head coach. For what it is worth, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/berhalter-wants-to-continue-role-with-usmnt-20230106-WST-414575.html">Gregg Berhalter remains a candidate</a> in the hunt for that role. Parlow Cone and Batson maintained that nothing changed in terms of Berhalter’s investigation, as that is being conducted independently.</p>



<h5>Major changes at US Soccer</h5>



<p>Generally speaking, tenures at the international level are shorter. That is particularly true with head coaches, as in the last four World Cups the side competed in, it had four different coaches.</p>



<p>Earnie Stewart was the first sporting director for US Soccer. He took on that role in the summer of 2019. Brian McBride had a storied career as a US international. The next GM of the USMNT will help the head coach on depth charts, monitoring players across the globe, driving technical alignment between youth teams and so on.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire</em></p>


US Soccer announced major changes on Thursday morning, as Earnie Stewart and Brian McBride will step away from the federation.

Oguchi Onyewu in the running for US Soccer Sporting Director

Earnie Stewart

Oguchi Onyewu in the running for US Soccer Sporting Director

Brian McBride

US Soccer parts ways with Earnie Stewart and Brian McBride