The San Diego Wave’s future won’t include Landon Donovan.
The National Women’s Soccer League Club issued a four-sentence statement Monday morning saying it is “nearing the final stages” of a search for a permanent head coach “as interim head coach Landon Donovan concludes his tenure with the club.”
“The Wave extends its gratitude to Landon for stepping in and serving as interim head coach,” the release said. “The club plans to announce a new head coach within the coming weeks.”
The most accomplished American men’s soccer player in history, the 44-year-old Donovan was hired by Wave president Jill Ellis in August with hopes of kick-starting San Diego’s stalled attack.
It was, from the beginning, an unusual situation. Donovan replaced interim coach Paul Buckle, who took over when the team dismissed coach Casey Stoney in June.
Donovan went 3-6-1 in 10 NWSL games and 2-1-0 in the Concacaf W Cup and watched as star Alex Morgan retired, Abby Dahlkemper was traded and Sofia Jakobbson and Sierra Enge were released.
The Wave finished 6-13-7, missing the NWSL playoffs and finishing 10th in a 14-team league.
As the season wrapped, Donovan offered few clues as to whether he would be back.
“The agreement with Jill all along was (that) we’ll get through this season and we’ll talk,” he said following the club’s Nov. 3 win over Racing Lousiville. “We’re now through the season. We were hoping it would last a little longer, but unfortunately, it didn’t.”
It’s not as if Donovan is disappearing. He will continue to serve as a game analyst for Fox. Last week, Donovan and former U.S. National Team goalkeeper Tim Howard debuted their new podcast, “Unfiltered Soccer,” which is produced by Sinclair Broadcasting and carried on podcast platforms and YouTube.
Donovan’s new media role led some to believe he was finished with the Wave before Monday’s announcement. Donovan indicated earlier this month he could do both if needed.
“That does not signal anything,” he said, “other than I’m excited to do it.”
