It is now official.

Schellas Hyndman and FC Dallas announced Friday morning that he will step down as the manager of the club at the end of the 2013 season.

Hyndman joined the club in 2008, and led FC Dallas to its only MLS Cup appearance in 2010. His 244 career points as a head coach are the most in FC Dallas history.

"I truly appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the FC Dallas family for the last five years," Hyndman said. "After a lot of thought and consideration, I feel the time is right for me to step down as head coach of FC Dallas. I want to thank the Hunt family for their support and friendship, our players, coaches and front office for their dedication and effort during my time here, and especially the great FC Dallas fans." "My family and I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Schellas both as a coach and as a person, and we sincerely appreciate his contributions to the club over the last five-and-a-half seasons," Hunt said. "Having had the pleasure of knowing him for the last 30 years, I have seen first-hand his commitment to his craft and the passion he has for the game. We wish him well in the next chapter of his life, and he will be missed."

Hyndman earned a 62-57-58 record in his five seasons as head coach, and in 2010, he became the first FC Dallas head coach to claim MLS Coach of the Year honors.

The search for the next head coach of FC Dallas will begin immediately, Hunt said, and is expected to include a broad list of candidates.

Before joining FC Dallas, Hyndman spent 31 seasons as a college head coach, including 24 at nearby Southern Methodist University. Hyndman ranks fifth all-time in victories among Division I coaches, posting an all-time college record of 466-122-49, which includes a record of 368-98-38 at SMU and 98-24-11 at Eastern Illinois University, where he was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. In 31 years as coach, he led his schools to 30 NCAA playoff appearances, 11 quarter finals and five final fours (three in Division I, two in Division II). He was named National Coach of the Year in 1981 and also earned eight League Coach of the Year honors during his career (WAC: 1997, 1998, 1999; MVC: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004; Conference USA: 2006).

We will have more on this coaching change here at BigDSoccer.com.

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