Sporting KC Fires Peter Vermes, Ending One of Global Soccer's Longest Head Coaching Spells

Vermes, 58, led the club as head coach since 2009, a 16-year spell among the longest for any head coach in global soccer.

Sporting Kansas City mutually parted ways with Peter Vermes after the club had claimed just one point from their first six matches. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

One of the world’s longest-tenured managers has been let go. On Monday morning, MLS side Sporting Kansas City mutually agreed to part ways with longtime head coach Peter Vermes. 

Vermes, 58, had been head coach with SKC since 2009, when the club rebranded to Sporting Kansas City from its previous monikers, the Kansas City Wizards and Kansas City Wiz. 

However, he had been involved with the club since 2006, when he came on as the Sporting technical director. Through his tenure in the front office and on the touchline, he helped lead the team to the 2013 MLS Cup title, three U.S. Open Cup titles, and 11 MLS Cup Playoff appearances.

His final game in charge came on Saturday, as SKC fell 2–1 to FC Dallas, bringing them a fifth loss in their first six games of the 2025 MLS season.

End of an era.

Kerry Zavagnin has been appointed as @SportingKC's interim head coach. pic.twitter.com/KKQMo8zdAs

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 31, 2025

As a head coach, he led SKC for 609 games in all competitions, over half the games in the club’s 30-year history, and the most for a manager at a single MLS cup. Through those, he coached 511 regular season games, with his tenure lasting seven seasons longer than any other active MLS manager. 

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He also became the first and only person to win MLS Cup as a coach and player with the same team, having won the league’s championship in 2000 as a standout center back. 

While there were many successful moments throughout his coaching tenure in SKC, his side had gotten off to an exceptionally poor start in 2025, claiming one point through their first six games, leading fans to call for him to leave the club. 

Former U.S. international Kerry Zavagnin, an assistant coach on Vermes’ staff, has been named the club’s interim head coach. 

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“It would be hard to list all of the people I want to thank after 20 seasons in managerial positions at Sporting Kansas City,” Vermes said in a club press release. “I am thankful to everyone, especially ownership for giving me the opportunity of being a steward of this club for the past two decades. I wish the club nothing but the best in the future.”

Sporting KC take on rival St. Louis CITY SC on April 5, looking for a derby win in their first match without Vermes’ involvement in over 16 years.

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