NASHVILLE, TN – Nashville SC announced Thursday that head coach Gary Smith has signed a contract extension that will keep him and his coaching staff with the club through the 2025 season. Smith joined Nashville SC in 2017 ahead of their first season in the USL Championship, and has led the Coyotes to playoff appearances in every season at the club.
“The team and city hold a special place in my heart, bonds that have been forged through some challenging times in our early history, so I couldn’t be happy to be extending my time here and helping the push towards bigger and better things on the field,” said Smith in the club’s press release.
Heading into his fourth season in MLS, Smith is already the ninth-longest tenured manager in the league. Since joining MLS in 2020, Nashville have averaged 1.49 points per game under Smith, the 11th-highest average in the league. Their +36 goal difference in that span is the fifth-best in MLS, behind only Philadelphia (+80), New York City FC (+48), Seattle (+39) and LAFC (+38).
“We are thankful of the leadership that Gary and his coaching staff have provided, and excited to reward them as they continue to lead us into the future,” said Mike Jacobs, Nashville SC GM. “Finishing joint fourth place in the Western Conference standings last season after the challenging travel and starting the season with the first eight matches on the road is no small feat, and we appreciate the direction that Gary, his coaching staff, and the players are heading in.”
Nashville finished in fourth place in the Western Conference, tied on points with LA Galaxy, who they lost to in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. They took a strong 11 points from an eight-game road trip to start the season, but struggled at home, taking just 24 points from 17 matches at their new stadium.
With Walker Zimmerman returning from a starting role with the United States at the FIFA World Cup and Hany Mukhtar returning to defend his MVP and Golden Boot-winning 2023 campaign, Nashville will attempt to challenge for one of the top spots in the Eastern Conference and create a strong home field advantage at Geodis Park.
