On Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Soccer announced that head coach Jill Ellis will step down at the conclusion of the national team’s victory tour later this fall. Ellis will leave after winning back-to-back World Cups with the U.S., and having picked up the FIFA World Coach of the Year award in 2015 thanks to the first of those wins. As of July 30th, her overall record stands at 102 wins, 18 draws and only seven losses since her hiring in May of 2014. After her departure as head coach, Ellis will stay within the U.S. Soccer world for another year to represent the federation as an ambassador.



She danced around the status of her contract in France when asked about it in press conferences, as it expired at the end of July. There was an option to extend through the 2020 Olympics. Instead, Ellis chose to step away this fall, in order to allow her successor the chance to coach the USWNT through a major tournament before the 2023 World Cup.



“A lot of emotions...