Jim Curtin opens up about his managerial journey with the Philadelphia Union

Perhaps because he’s with a club that doesn’t necessarily grab the headlines, but Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin is one of the rising stars of MLS’ managerial ranks. His contract extension this week another sign of his success with the organization.

The most successful head coach in Philadelphia Union history, Jim Curtin is the first head coach to win a trophy with the franchise. At 41-years old, he holds the most wins in franchise history, something that seemed far-fetched in 2014 when he was named interim manager midseason following the firing of John Hackworth.

The thought then was that Curtin was always a placeholder until the Union signed a high profile, likely foreign, head coach. Instead, he is now the second-longest tenured head coach in MLS behind Sporting Kansas City’s Peter Vermes.

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It has certainly been a long, unusual journey for the Philadelphia-born-and-bred Curtin, who began his managerial career with the Philadelphia Union Academy. But one that has Curtin believing his team of young players mixed with under the radar signings can be competitive, whether against top MLS teams or even in their current CONCACAF Champions League run.

"He sums up this mindset by acknowledging “we have to punch above our weight. We have to have 11 guys on the same page and then we believe we can beat any group of superstars…”"

“Look, I went to college for finance, you know, quite literally walked out of my senior year of Villanova finance class when Bob Bradley drafted me in Chicago and lucky enough, I went into that locker room where you guys know the players that were in there. They all thought the game like coaches so I was lucky, you know, it Jesse Maurice and Chris Armas, Ante Razov, Zach Thornton – all guys that are coaching in the league. I missed Josh Wolff as well – guys that are doing great work throughout the game,” Curtin said on Sirius XM on Wednesday.

“So I was forced to be kind of a student of the game and I was lucky. Look at it as a pro athlete, you know, we all miss coming out of the tunnel and when that ends in is gone. You know, some are prepared for what’s next, but that emptiness is tough and it hits hard and it is real. I like so many professional players my career ended before I wanted it to, and I could have sat around and sulked or I dove into coaching at a young age so I ended at 30 and jumped right into the academy and kind of, for those that don’t know, work my way up through the academy. I believe very much in young players and they got to see, fortunately for me, literally eight and nine year old boys and girls in our academy. I had time to try things to fail, make mistakes, and eventually became the assistant coach after some success with the youth [academy].

“As the head coach and I’ve been able to run with it through some very good seasons and sometimes tough seasons to where I learned a lot along the way. So you know that’s the quick version of how it came to be, but you know, certainly, when that career comes to an …when you see a lot of our peers that maybe haven’t prepared for what’s next, it can be difficult. But we all want to stay in the game I feel like I’ve never worked a day in my life and I want to try to keep it that way, as long as possible. I’m really lucky.”

The interview was a long segment where Curtin was interviewed by legendary national team goalkeeper Tony Meola and Brian Dunseth, co-hosts of Counter Attack on Sirius XM.

Not enough attention is given to Curtin as a head coach in MLS but also as a potential head coach of the United States national team moving forward. He’s developed players such as centerback Mark McKenzie (Genk) and Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg), both of whom are now regulars for the United States national team. Others such as current goalkeeper Andre Blake are stars in CONCACAF on their respected national team.

These players are developing and growing, a credit to Curtin. He’s winning games and helping players progress – and in the case of McKenzie and Aaronson – move on to Europe. It makes him a rare head coach in MLS who is capable of winning games but sending players to the next level.

Currently, Jim Curtin has navigated a tricky MLS season well. Last season, the Philadelphia Union won the Supporters Shield, landing them into the CONCACAF Champions League. This year, they are in the semifinals of the tournament, the last remaining MLS team in the Champions League.

The Philadelphia Union are in second place in the Eastern Conference on 14 points with a 4-2-2 record. Not a bad start considering their fixture congestion.

A former MLS defender who was an All-Star in 2004 with the Chicago Fire, Curtin won two U.S. Open Cups as a player. His time in MLS, including an influential period as a player under Bob Bradley, helped mold Curtin’s philosophy as a head coach.

He also benefitted from some of the upheaval surrounding the Union during his early years as an assistant coach and now a head coach.

“Mine’s kind of been, I take in little pieces and stolen different things from coaches that I’ve had, I’ll just say the good and the bad. I think we’ve all had coaches that maybe did it the wrong way or their man management wasn’t the best in the end you recognize those moments and you said ‘That’s not how I want to be.’ So you learn from every experience,” Curtin said on ‘Counter Attack.’

“I’ve been a lot of people would say it’s unfortunate that I’ve had so many different, you know, sporting directors. I think it’s up to you know, four or five already, and you can see that as a negative but I took that as a positive. I learned, you know, as an example, you know, Ernie Stewart, would love to have the ball and it was more of a Dutch style and wanting to kind of dominate things through possession, and then fast forward and I get Ernst Tanner in hhis knowledge of, you know, let the opponent of the ball and let’s counter attack and let’s be tough to break down defensively and that’s should come first. You take a little bit from all those experiences.

“At the end of the day, you still have to be your own coach and your own person, but whether you go watch it, you know, you’re shadowing – you get the opportunity to go to a club like Liverpool which I have I’ve had the opportunity to go to Red Bull Salzburg and see Jesse Marsch and everywhere I’ve been in this game. It’s just like any other job in that it’s really about the relationships, relationships that you create, if you can have good relationships with your players. If they can trust you, you’ll get the most out of them and get to know them as people. If you can empower your staff and get the most out of them. That’s more important than any of the X’s and O’s.”

That, Curtin said, is the most important lesson he has learned as a head coach and what he believes has made him successful in MLS.

Especially since the Philadelphia Union aren’t necessarily big spenders, he thinks the team’s mentality is what can set them apart. It certainly did as they topped MLS in the regular season in 2020.

“We could sit and talk about tactics for hours and hours, and break down these Euro games that have been fun to watch and the Copa America. But really all these top coaches that I still aspire to be like and I’m nowhere near the top yet but it comes back to relationships and how they treat people and how they get along with people I think more so than anything; that’s been the biggest lessons I’ve learned through travel you know seeing it at the highest level, even seeing it with eight and nine year olds in the academy. I still think it comes down to that and that’s how you motivate people to be together,” Curtin told Meola and Dunseth.

“And in Philadelphia, look let’s be honest, we have to punch above our weight. We have to have 11 guys on the same page and then we believe we can beat any group of superstars with that so we need everybody bought in and those relationships are what it really comes down to.”

Follow Kristian Dyer of ‘MLS Multiplex‘ on Twitter @KristianRDyer