ST. PETERSBURG — On the eve of the much-anticipated return to their Al Lang Stadium home, the Rowdies fired head coach Robbie Neilson.
The team was off to a 1-3 start — which team president Ryan Helfrick deemed not “up to our standards” — while playing its first four games on the road to allow for completion of repairs to the hurricane-damaged stadium.
Assistant coach Steve Coleman, who joined the staff in January, will serve as interim head coach, starting with Saturday’s match against Loudoun United FC.
“Appointing Steve Coleman as interim head coach reflects our confidence in the group we have,” Rowdies vice chairman Brian Auld said in a news release. “In his short time at the club, Steve has already taken it upon himself to understand our Rowdies culture and is fully committed to supporting our players on and off the field.
“We believe in this roster — its talent, resilience, and ability to compete at the highest level in the USL Championship. To our fans: your continued support means everything, and we remain focused on delivering a team that represents the pride and passion of Tampa Bay.”
Coleman, a native of England, most recently served as first assistant coach for Virginia-based Loudoun United. He has been involved heavily in New Zealand soccer, including roles as assistant coach and analyst for the U-17 and U-23 national teams. He also served as academy director for Australian A-League club Wellington Phoenix FC.
When Coleman joined the Rowdies in January, Neilson said he was a valuable addition because of his experience.
“His background is in teaching,” Neilson said then in a team news release. “You need that skill set. Coaching players these days is about teaching players and helping them progress. Steve will do that for us.”
Neilson was hired before the start of the 2024 season and compiled an overall record of 17-17-8, with only four wins in the last 20 matches. In their first four this season, the Rowdies were shut out twice and scored only three total goals.
Helfrick said Wednesday he was hoping the return to Al Lang would provide a spark.
“I think it will be a turning point for the team,” he said. “We’ve had a little bit of a slow start to the season. We’re 1-3 right now, which isn’t up to our standards. But at the end of the day, seven out of our next eight matches are at home, and for us Al Lang has always been a fortress. We have a really good record at home.
“Last year, as I’ve told people, it seems like it was probably a little bit of a disappointment in terms of our record at home — we only lost three out of 15 matches. So it wasn’t too bad. But we do have high expectations here, and we hope to turn it around, and hopefully the guys get really excited, amped up for this game, being back in front of our fans.”
