Jim Curtin says he’d leave the Union for a USMNT assistant coach job

It’s no secret that Union manager Jim Curtin dreams of coaching the U.S. men’s national team some day, as so many American coaches do. Nor is it a secret that he’s one of many candidates to be Gregg Berhalter’s successor.

But for Curtin right now, it wouldn’t just take offering the top job to get him to leave the Union.

“Whoever they choose — if they choose José Mourinho, if they choose [Carlo] Ancelotti, if they choose Jesse Marsch, I would also be their assistant,” Curtin said on the Crack Podcast, whose co-hosts include former national team players DaMarcus Beasley and Oguchi Onyewu, and soccer fashion designer Mabricio Wilson.

“Of course I’d love to coach the national team, if that’s what you’re asking,” Curtin said, and it was indeed what they were asking. “But I said this before [about being an assistant] and I mean what I say when I say it … That’s how important I think this World Cup is.”

Curtin has spoken before about the importance of the U.S. hosting 2026 World Cup. Early last month, he said: “I think that every head coach should put the egos aside and almost be willing to be an assistant with that team. It’s that big of a job and it’s that important of a job.”

But it felt different to hear Curtin put himself up for an assistant job that bluntly.

Curtin knows all three of the podcast’s hosts well. He played with Wilson on youth teams, played with Beasley on the Chicago Fire, and coached Onyewu on the Union in 2017 — the last stop of Onyewu’s long pro career.

» READ MORE: Earnie Stewart and Brian McBride leave U.S. Soccer, giving the men's national team a 'clean canvas'

They all chatted for over an hour on a range of subjects, from the national team to the Union’s growth to their old times together. And amid all the jokes and stories, there was this moment of surprise.

“You would leave your head coaching job to be a U.S. assistant?” Wilson asked.

“Yes,” Curtin responded.

“Wow,” Wilson reacted.

“Man,” Onyewu said at the same time.

“When I say that, in 2026 — you guys understand it, but I don’t think maybe the outside realizes how important this World Cup is,” Curtin said. “This is in our country, you know, with a good group of young players.”

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Though it’s not clear when the interview happened — Curtin hinted during the show that it was last Thursday — the podcast was published Tuesday, the day after Leeds United fired Curtin’s longtime friend Jesse Marsch.

Leeds’ move broadened the pathway for Marsch to be the next U.S. boss. There’s no guarantee that he will get the job, not least because the hire will be made by a new sporting director who isn’t in yet. But Marsch was one of the favorites before his dismissal, and he could be even more of one now.

“I think coaches have to be humble enough to say, if they choose Jesse as the guy, I’d love to be Jesse’s assistant, I’d be honored to,” Curtin said. “I could share maybe some defensive ideas that I have, that I think would be helpful. If whoever’s in charge decides we want to be a transition team, go out and hire whoever you think is the head coach, but get the best guy in the world right now at transition — you can’t leave any stone unturned.”

Curtin called for a NFL-style coaching setup, with a head coach flanked by offensive and defensive specialists with major experience.

“They’ve got to be top, top, top guys,” he said. “I think if you the right research and interview the right people, I think you could get a really good staff that could do some damage with the talent pool that we have. I’m not trying to start anything, I’m just saying.”

Curtin’s reputation for honesty gives him the right to be taken at his word. But there’s a notable extra piece of context here: he’s in the last year of his contract with the Union. While talks have been going on for a while, they aren’t done yet.

That subject didn’t come up in the interview. It’s a safe bet, though, that the people who need to know are well aware.

» READ MORE: American manager Jesse Marsch fired by Leeds United after 11 months

The hosts also couldn’t help asking Curtin for his take on the Reyna-Berhalter scandal, and Curtin obliged.

“Instantly, I felt bad for the [Berhalter] family members, that’s where my brain goes,” he said. “Just because, they didn’t ask to be in the spotlight, in the limelight, to have their name out there.”

Of the politics of it all, Curtin said: “You knew it wasn’t going to end good for anybody. You’re seeing changes, a lot of changes, at U.S. Soccer, as a result of it. Whether they’re good or bad, I don’t know, I don’t have those answers, but certainly not a good situation for everybody. And the getting involved in the playing time, as adults — it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’m not for that.”

Beasley and Wilson promptly asked Curtin if he’d ever been pressured over playing time by a prospect’s parents, as Danielle and Claudio Reyna did to U.S. Soccer’s Earnie Stewart and Brian McBride over Gio Reyna.

It’s a question that many outsiders have wondered, not least because of the Aaronson family’s star-struck place in growing the Union’s prominence. Curtin has known Brenden and Paxten since they were just out of elementary school, and has known their parents Rusty and Janell for just as long.

“Nothing’s ever crossed the line in terms of playing time,” Curtin said. “Because I’m this close with Mr. Aaronson, do I know he’s pissed when I don’t choose Paxten? You’re damn right I know that. But he knows not to cross that line.”

That will be a great relief to a lot of observers — perhaps including some at U.S. Soccer.

» READ MORE: Claudio and Danielle Reyna, Gio’s parents, admit to disclosing incident to U.S. Soccer concerning Gregg Berhalter