Austin FC has hired Jim Curtin to become its head coach after the 2026 MLS season, giving the club a named successor even as interim manager Davy Arnaud remains in charge through the rest of the current campaign. The move means the next permanent coaching change in Austin is already on the calendar.

Curtin said he had several other opportunities, both in MLS and abroad, but chose Austin because the project excited him most. He will arrive after a 11-season run with the Philadelphia Union, where he won the Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year award in 2020 and 2022, lifted the 2020 Supporters' Shield and guided the club to the 2022 MLS Cup final. Across his time in Philadelphia, Curtin went 170W-90L-134D in all competitions and helped the Union reach the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs seven times.

For Austin, the timing matters. The club announced the hire on Monday while sitting 14th in the Western Conference at the 2026 FIFA World Cup break with 14 points and a 3W-7L-5D record, and it is still searching for a new sporting director. Curtin will become the third permanent head coach in club history, following Josh Wolff and Nico Estévez, who departed in May.

That leaves Austin with one clear answer for its long-term dugout plan and one open question in the front office. Curtin is set to take over after the 2026 MLS season ends, but the club still has to sort out who will shape the roster before he walks into it.

He called Austin FC’s facilities among the best in MLS and said Q2 Stadium offers one of the top atmospheres in North American soccer. After a year without a club, Curtin now steps into a rebuild that begins before he arrives and will be judged by what Austin does next as much as by the name it has already put on the door.