Nashville SC has its second head coach in franchise history, as the team on Wednesday named U.S. men’s national team assistant B.J. Callaghan to the position.
Callaghan replaces Gary Smith, who was fired May 16 after guiding Nashville through its first four Major League Soccer seasons as well as 12 games this year. Callaghan will officially join the club on July 22, ahead of Leagues Cup 2024 and Nashville SC’s match against Mazatlán F.C. on July 31 at Geodis Park.
Rumba Munthali, the team’s player development coach, has been serving as interim head coach, guiding the team to a 3-2-3 record in eight games.
"Taking the head coach position at Nashville SC is an incredible opportunity and an exciting next step in my career,” Callaghan said in a release. “I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to [U.S. coach] Gregg Berhalter for his mentorship and support throughout my time with the U.S. Men's National Team. The experience I've gained here has been invaluable, and I'm deeply appreciative of the relationships and memories made along the way.
“While I am thrilled to embark on this new journey, it is bittersweet to leave a team and staff that I believe in so deeply. I have full confidence in the exceptional coaching staff we have in place and know the team is in great hands. As we approach the 2026 World Cup, I'll be cheering on the team every step of the way. Thank you to everyone at U.S. Soccer for the support and camaraderie. It has truly been an honor.”
Nashville (6-6-8) currently sits seventh — in a playoff position — in the 15-team Eastern Conference, with 14 games remaining in the season. The Boys in Gold play Wednesday night at the Columbus Crew, and will play four more MLS games before Callaghan takes over.
One of his first responsibilities will be finding a way to charge Nashville’s offense, as the team has scored just 24 goals this season, more than only three other squads in the 29-team league.
The 43-year-old Callaghan, a New Jersey native, served as interim head coach of the USMNT last summer, leading the squad to the 2023 Concacaf Nations League championship and the semifinal round of the Gold Cup. He returned to an assistant coach role upon the reappointment of Berhalter as national team coach.
Callaghan's tenure with U.S. Soccer began in 2019 as a strategy analyst before he was promoted to assistant coach that same year. Since his appointment, the U.S. team captured the Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup in 2021, before reaching the Round of 16 in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with Nashville defenders Shaq Moore and Walker Zimmerman on the roster.
He has also coached Nashville's Tyler Boyd and Dan Lovitz while with the national team.
Before his tenure with U.S. Soccer, Callaghan was an assistant coach with MLS’ Philadelphia Union, helping that franchise to the final of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2014, 2015 and 2018, and the MLS Cup playoffs in 2016 and 2018.
“We are so excited to usher in this new era for Nashville Soccer Club with B.J. as our head coach,” Nashville SC General Manager Mike Jacobs said in the release. “B.J. has a tremendous amount of experience that spans all levels of soccer at the highest levels of the game and has excelled throughout the MLS ecosystem.
"He is an exceptional leader who gets the most out of the players and teams that he has coached and brings a hard-working and relentless mentality to our club. B.J. is ready for this opportunity to continue to build and develop a winning culture and is the right person to drive our club’s ambition for success.”
This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.
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