Sporting Kansas City and longtime coach Peter Vermes have mutually parted ways, the team announced on Monday.
Vermes, 58, was the longest-tenured skipper in MLS, having originally taken over as interim coach in 2009. He also owned the fourth-longest active managerial tenure in the world before his firing. His 15 year, seven month, 24 day tenure stands as the 38th-longest tenure by any soccer manager in the world since the second world war.
Kerry Zavagnin was named the interim coach for Sporting KC, who are winless (0-5-1) through six matches to start the 2025 season – part of a 13-match winless run dating back to the end of last season, which ended with four straight losses as SKC missed the MLS playoffs.
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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 statement. “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.“
Vermes guided Sporting KC to an MLS Cup championship in 2013 and US Open Cup titles in 2012, 2015 and 2017. His teams made the playoffs 11 times, including eight straight from 2011-18. He was named the MLS Sporting Executive of the Year in 2019, having served as the club’s technical director since 2006.
Vermes was instrumental not just in the first team’s success, but also in building out the broader infrastructure of the club once known as the Kansas City Wizards. He led the team into a new era during that rebrand, and contributed to the club’s designs for its home stadium and training facility, and oversaw the development of the youth academy.
Vermes ranks third all-time among MLS coaches with 203 wins in the regular season. He played for the franchise from 2000-02 and is the only person to win the MLS Cup as a player and a coach with the same team.
