Report: Patrick Vieira “negotiating” to become USMNT coach

Could the United States Men’s National Team have their new coach soon? According to TUDN’s Michele Giannone, U.S. Soccer is in negotiations with Patrick Vieira to potentially become the next USMNT head coach.

The news comes very soon after Vieira parted ways with Strasbourg this morning by mutual agreement, making him available for other coaching opportunities. The 48-year-old former France playing legend got his first senior head coaching position with New York City FC for 3 seasons before coaching stints at Nice, Crystal Palace, and Strasbourg.

According to Giannone’s report, following Jurgen Klopp’s rejection of an approach from U.S. Soccer for the job, the candidate search focused on three candidates: LAFC’s Steve Cherundolo, Columbus Crew’s Wilfriend Nancy, and Vieira. It seems that his departure from Strasbourg is at least somewhat linked to his potential candidacy for the USMNT job.

U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker has indicated that he wanted a new coach in place by the September international window, when the USMNT will have home friendlies against Canada and New Zealand. It comes after the federation fired Gregg Berhalter from the job after the team crashed out of the 2024 Copa America in the group stage.

Nothing has been finalized, and of course with all the coaches that are available out there, silly season has occurred on the USMNT coaching search. Almost every coach has been linked with the USMNT in the past couple of weeks. However, in Vieira, the USMNT would have a France playing legend who has coaching experience in Major League Soccer, is familiar with the American system, and has experience coaching in Ligue 1 and the Premier League. It doesn’t feel like anything is close, but it’s certainly a development to keep an eye on in the coming days.