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Nashville SC fires coach Gary Smith after 3-4-5 start in seventh season

George Walker IVAP Photo (File)
Nashville SC head coach Gary Smith walks across the field before an MLS soccer match against Inter Miami Wednesday, May 17, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.
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Nashville SC has fired Gary Smith, the only head coach in franchise history.

The club announced the decision Thursday, describing the move only as Smith’s “departure,” along with assistant coach Steve Guppy. He is the first MLS coach to be fired this season.

Former Nashville player and current player development coach Rumba Munthali will serve as interim head coach starting with Saturday’s game against Atlanta United.

Nashville improved to 3-4-5 this season with Wednesday night’s 2-0 win over Toronto FC, when Smith was booed during pre-game introductions.
Smith’s seven-season tenure included six consecutive playoff appearances in the USL Championship and Major League Soccer, and the Leagues Cup Final in 2023.

Smith led Nashville SC to 52 MLS wins and three playoff victories. The club reached the playoffs four times and the Eastern Conference semifinals twice.

He won the MLS Cup in 2020 with the Colorado Rapids and later with Atlantic Silverbacks FC in the NASL.

Rachel Iacovone, Director of Multiplatform Publishing

Rachel Iacovone (YAH-kuh-VOAN-ee) is WPLN's Director of Multiplatform Publishing, which is a long way of saying she leads all the ways the news reaches you (this website, social media, This Is Nashville and more). She began her public radio career covering politics in Florida during the 2016 presidential race. In 2019, Rachel came to Nashville as a local Morning Edition, and later All Things Considered, host before her passion for data deep dives, visualizations, photography and social media storytelling pulled her off air and put her online fully.

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