The U.S. men’s national soccer team is searching for a new coach. On July 10, Gregg Berhalter was relieved of his duties as the head coach. Interestingly, his exit happened right after the team lost 1-0 to Uruguay in the Copa América tournament last week. And so, they looked at Jurgen Klopp as a solution. Unfortunately, the offer wasn’t good enough for him!

While his rejection poses even a bigger problem for Team USA, USMNT icons Alexi Lalas and Stu Holden are ‘glad‘ Jurgen Klopp isn’t an option anymore. Lalas first took to X and reacted to the news by captioning, “Good. Thank you Jurgen. Don’t waste our time.”

Similarly, Holden also retweeted the information of Klopp’s rejection and wrote, “1. You had to ask 2. Glad that’s out of the way and now the focus can be on high profile candidates that are realistic and have genuine interest in the position.” 

But the question still stands: Why did Klopp reject the offer? Well, as per sources, he stated that he wanted a break from soccer. Let us not forget how he left Liverpool as a manager in May. His departure ended his nine-year tenure with the team. During his tenure with Liverpool, the team won the Premier League title in 2020. It was their first Premier League title in 30 years! They also captured their very first Champions League since 2005, after defeating Tottenham Hotspur in 2019.

And so USMNT felt he was a great candidate. After all, the team needs a coach as they get ready for the 2026 World Cup. Their sporting director, Matt Crocker, even shared his thoughts on their coaching situation. “Our immediate focus is on finding a coach who can maximize our potential…”

However, Liverpool’s new announcement pertaining to Klopp is interesting. They announced that he would be returning with a new role. The 57-year-old will be the honorary ambassador for their charity- the LFC Foundation.

Now, while Lalas and Holden may be happy with Klopp rejecting the position, we cannot deny that time is running out. However, is the team in this situation because of their own fault? Let us backtrack to 2022. Berhalter’s contract expired on Dec. 21, 2022. It was already a tough time for the team since they got eliminated from the World Cup in the round of 16. At the same time, Berhalter was going through a tough personal situation.

So many thought the team would hire someone new. In the end, Berhalter was rehired, and though people were underwhelmed, they hoped for the best. But with his recent firing, it looks like things were going well.

With Berhalter’s exit and Klopp rejecting USMNT’s offer, what other options does the team have? Here’s what we think:

All the options USMNT can look at:

Steve Cherundolo: What makes him a top candidate is the fact that he has back-to-back MLS Cup finals with LAFC on his resume. They won the title in 2022. Though he lacks international coaching experience, let us not forget that he was a part of three World Cup squads with the US as a player. The current LAFC boss has achieved notable coaching success at the domestic level. He previously worked as an assistant for the USMNT under Dave Sarachan.

Wilfried Nancy: Next on the list is a different MLS boss, Wilfried Nancy, coaching the Columbus Crew to a title. Under his guidance, Columbus Crew has excelled, and they bagged the MLS Cup in his first season as a coach in 2023. What’s even better is that for USMNT, he will be a homegrown coach. Plus, he might be the one to solve the US’s problem of getting tactically outclassed.

Jim Curtin: Back in 2020, when it looked like Berhalter might make a quick exit from USMNT, the team considered him as a suitable option. But when Berhalter returned, Curtin stuck to Philadelphia. Regardless, he has the second-longest tenure in MLS as a coach. He even guided Philadelphia to the MLS Cup final in 2022. In 2020, they won the Supporters’ Shield.

Additionally, Thierry Henry, Gareth Southgate, Jesse Marsch, and David Wagner are also names the USMNT may consider. Who do you think is suitable for the head coach role? Let us know in the comments below.