Sporting KC
Rapha Wicky Terminated as Sporting KC Coach
Sporting Kansas City announced Monday that head coach Raphael Wicky and two assistant coaches will not return for 2027.
Following a historically inept defensive campaign that saw the club set the all-time MLS single-season goals allowed record, Sporting Kansas City has officially terminated the contract of head coach Raphael Wicky alongside some members of his coaching staff.
The Raphael Wicky era in Kansas City is over after just 10 months.
Sporting KC announced on Monday morning that the club has terminated the contract of head coach Raphael Wicky, bringing a swift and decisive end to his tenure. The team specifically said “terminated” and not the often-used language, “mutually parted ways.”
In addition to Wicky’s departure, the club parted ways with assistant coaches Edu Rubio and Ash Wallace. Rubio joined Wicky’s staff ahead of the 2026 season and Wallace was the longest tenured assistant on the team, after serving under Peter Vermes and interim coach Kerry Zavagnin.
Wicky, who was introduced on January 5 on a two-and-a-half-year contract through the 2027-28 season with an option for 2028-29, departs after managing just 34 regular-season league games. When his staff was finalized with new and familiar faces two weeks later, the hope was that Wicky’s tactical background and Rubio’s Premier League experience would modernize the club’s identity.
Instead, the results cratered. While a 1-0 Decision Day road win over San Diego FC paired with a Vancouver Whitecaps victory in Montreal allowed Kansas City to dodge the Wooden Spoon on a tiebreaker, finishing 29th overall with a 7-22-5 record (26 points) left David Lee with little choice.
“We would like to thank Raphael for his time at Sporting KC,” President of Soccer Operations and General Manager David Lee said. “The 2026 season has been challenging for many reasons, and we recognize that Rapha and his staff worked incredibly hard in difficult circumstances. After a review of the season, Rapha and I met, and I decided to make the change. We wish Rapha the best of luck in the future.”
There is no word on assistant coaches Dominic Kinnear, club legend Roger Espinoza, and goalkeeper coach Darrin MacLeod, who presumably remain on staff.
The KC Soccer Journal will bring you more on the Sporting KC offseason, coaching search, and a closer look at why Wicky finds himself out after a single season in charge, despite not having a fully built roster to work with.
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Chad, you say I’m too negative. Well, I’m absolutely giddy. Maybe things will finally turn around while we can still save the patient. Hiring the Manager before too many more signing makes a ton of sense. Wicky took our team and made it worse.
Great days are finally on the horizon. I hope SKC hires well, but at least we are going to hire.
looking forward to someone who sees a 4-3-3/4-5-1 type of roster and doesn’t put them in a 4-4-2.
Probably need to make that coaching decision so we can decide what we are going to do – them continue building the roster with that in mind. Not sure how many “keepers” are on the roster (speaking of which, we do need a keeper).