After 14 years in the US Soccer organization, Jill Ellis has lost the interim title to her post and will become the ninth head coach in USWNT history.
Ellis, who is 47 was apart of a short candidate list that included Olympic and World Cup winning coach Tony DiCicco and Sweden’s Tyreso FC head coach Tony Gustavsson, who was an assistant with Ellis under Pia Sundhage.
Ellis has a pedigree with US women’s soccer that is unmatched. She was an assistant on the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Gold medal teams, head coach of the U-21 and U-20 teams and has been the development director for US soccer since 2010. Really what it comes down to is no one knows the USWNT system, program and players like Jill Ellis.
"Jill has been on the bench for more senior and youth women's national team matches than perhaps any coach in United States history," United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said in a released statement. "She has worked at this for many years and has tremendous knowledge of our player pool and the qualities of multiple generations of players.”
Ellis was in her second stint as interim head coach and was a candidate for the position after Pia Sundhage stepped down, but she withdrew her name so she would be able to spend more time with her family.
Ellis’s resume doesn’t end with her national team credentials. She led UCLA to a 229-45-14 record in 12 years which included eight college cup (final four) appearances, but no titles.
Players took to social media showing their support toward their new head coach:
Coach. Check. Congrats Jill! Now, time to put all focus into World Cup Qualifiers this fall! #USWNT #WWC2015— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) May 16, 2014
Congrats to Jill Ellis! We are in good hands and looking forward to starting our journey of qualifying for the World Cup! #canada2015— Carli Lloyd (@CarliLloyd) May 16, 2014
Goalkeeper Hope Solo also said "We're comfortable with Jill, we love Jill, we have a lot of respect for Jill and she didn't really miss a beat (in her first game in charge last month against China). I'm always honored to be coached by Jill. Every time she has something to say I think we'll perk up and really listen."
No one is questioning Jill Ellis’s knowledge or pedigree. She’s a players’ manager and knows these players and this system better than anyone and there is no doubt that she knows how to put them in positions to be successful, but Ellis will have to deal with a deep team with a lot of personalities. Abby Wambach told Julie Foudy “We, as players, all have to get comfortable sometimes with letting somebody else shine. Because gone are the days when those 11 players that play the best together are the ones that are gonna start for the entire time.”
Only five months out from their World Cup qualifiers, its good to have someone who the players are comfortable with and vice versa. Ellis has been involved since the beginning and doesn’t need to be brought up to speed, she knows what she needs to do and thats lead this team to a 2015 World Cup Championship.
"First, I would like to sincerely thank U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati and U.S. Soccer Secretary General/CEO Dan Flynn for this amazing opportunity. It's a huge honor," said Ellis. "I also want to acknowledge all the past players and coaches that have built a rich tradition and legacy for this team. I'm humbled and proud to lead the current generation of players toward the ultimate goal, a FIFA World Cup championship…”
The USWNT have a pair of friendlies next month against fourth ranked France and will begin their World Cup qualifying in Cancun and Play del Carmen from October 16-26th.
