The New York Red Bulls are going through big changes with leadership shakeups coming soon. Sandro Schwarz who became head coach in 2024 and got the team to win the Eastern Conference Championship won’t be back for the 2026 season. Even though things started good the Red Bulls didn’t make the playoffs in 2025 because of players getting hurt and playing bad which ended their 15-year streak. Jochen Schneider who’s the Chief Sporting Officer is also leaving to go back to Europe which ends a big part of the club’s history.
- Sandro Schwarz won’t be head coach for the 2026 season.
- Jochen Schneider is leaving as Chief Sporting Officer.
- Julian de Guzman is the new Head of Sport.
Leadership Transition at New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are changing up their leadership big time. Sandro Schwarz who started as head coach in 2024 isn’t coming back for the 2026 season. While he was there the team won an Eastern Conference Championship but the Red Bulls didn’t get into the playoffs in 2025 which ended their 15-year streak. Jochen Schneider who’s the club’s Chief Sporting Officer is also leaving to go back to Europe which means the end of a real important time for the Red Bulls.
BREAKING: Sandro Schwarz will not return as New York Red Bulls head coach in 2026. Jochen Schneider will not return as CSO, either.
Julian de Guzman named head of sport.
Big changes after the club missed the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. https://t.co/3BuwDcO2ll
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert)
October 27, 2025
Julian de Guzman’s New Role
Julian de Guzman is now the new Head of Sport taking over from Jochen Schneider. De Guzman who broke new ground in Canadian soccer and used to be Director of Red Bulls II knows a lot about the game and thinks different about things. He did really good in Spain’s La Liga and helped Canadian soccer a lot, and now people think he’ll help the Red Bulls start something new. Getting him to join shows the team wants to change things up and start over after having a rough season.
Competitive Landscape in Major League Soccer
The stuff happening at New York Red Bulls shows how tough Major League Soccer is. While the Red Bulls are changing things up teams like Vancouver Whitecaps FC are doing really good with their new leaders which shows how things can change in the league. The Red Bulls are trying to do the same kind of stuff showing how important good leaders and making players better is to keep winning games. All this shows how hard it is for MLS teams when they try to be the best.
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