US Soccer announce Earnie Stewart exit as Sporting Director to join Dutch team PSV Eindhoven

Earnie Stewart is stepping down as US Soccer Sporting Director to join Dutch team PSV Eindhoven, the federation has confirmed.

The 53-year-old will remain with US Soccer until February 15 to ‘ensure a smooth transition’ in the search for his replacement.

As well as Stewart, Brian McBride has also quit as General Manager after serving in the role for the past three years, having made his decision known prior to the Qatar World Cup.

Their respective departures come amid uncertainty over the future of head coach Gregg Berhalter, whose contract expired at the end of 2022.

Earnie Stewart is stepping down as US Soccer Sporting Director to join PSV Eindhoven

General Manager Brian McBride has also quit after making the decision before the World Cup

It is unclear whether Berhalter will remain in charge after the mother of Gio Reyna, one of his USA players, exposed a violent row he had with now-wife Rosalind back in 1991 after being left unhappy with her son’s lack of action at the World Cup.

As well as addressing their coaching dilemma, US Soccer will now have to search for a new Sporting Director and General Manager with Stewart and McBride moving on.

Stewart, the Netherlands-born former USA international, is heading back to his birth country to join PSV, who currently sit third in their top division.

He has spent three-and-a-half years with US Soccer after becoming their first ever Sporting Director back in August 2019.

Stewart spent three-and-a-half years at US Soccer after becoming their first Sporting Director

‘When the opportunity arose to return to the Netherlands to pursue an exciting and challenging role that was near my family, I could not turn it down,’ Stewart said on Thursday.

‘I am extremely proud of what our sporting department has accomplished over the past four years to advance the next generation of players and increase participation in the sport across the country. This is a pivotal time for the sport in the United States and I have full confidence in the leadership of U.S. Soccer heading into 2026 and beyond.

‘It has been an honor to represent the U.S. Soccer Federation again in this capacity and I look forward to continuing to support U.S. Soccer in my next chapter and in the future.’

US Soccer Cindy Parlow Cone was well aware of how big of an opportunity it is for Stewart, meaning they let him out of his contract early to move closer to his family and take it.

Cinday Parlow Cone understood the size of the opportunity for Netherlands-born Stewart

‘First of all, I want to thank off by thanking Earnie and Brian for all they’ve done for US men’s soccer,’ Cone said.

‘Earnie, who I worked closely with, has my deep appreciation for everything he’s done for our sporting department.

‘I think we’ve made great progress under Earnie’s leadership.

‘Earnie helped put us in a position to succeed.’

Stewart’s replacement will lead the search for a new USMNT head coach, though that does not preclude Berhalter from consideration.

Cone confirmed that the 49-year-old ‘remains a candidate’ to continue in the position despite the controversy surrounding Danielle Reyna’s blackmail plot earlier this month.

However, US Soccer may not replace McBride in the General Manager role ahead of a review of their structure at board level.

After his exit was confirmed, McBride said in a statement posted on Twitter: ‘Back in October, I made the decision that it would be time for me to move on to a new challenge. I felt that we had accomplished the main goal of getting the Men’s National Team back to the FIFA World Cup, while also winning the Gold Cup and the Nations League.’

He then went on to add: ‘I am sure some are asking why I didn’t release this in October. The simple answer is I didn’t want any focus off the team in the lead-up or during the World Cup. I felt in order to have a successful World Cup, the focus needed to be about the players and the coaches.

‘I had planned to release a statement in December when we returned from Doha, but another opportunity arose inside the Federation while there.

‘I spent the last month looking into the position. After doing background on the position, I felt it was one that would fit seamlessly with my position in leadership. Unfortunately, the position has been put on hold until the foreseeable future. Which leads me to this statement.’