For only the second time in program history, the Michigan women’s soccer team is looking for a new head coach.
Athletic director Warde Manuel announced Jan. 26 that Greg Ryan won’t come back to Ann Arbor next year after serving as head coach for 10 seasons.
“It has been determined that Greg Ryan will not return as our women’s soccer coach,” Manuel said in a press release on MGoBlue.com. “We thank Greg for his 10 years of service and wish him success in the future.”
Prior to working at Michigan, Ryan was the head coach of the United States Women’s National Team for two years. The former professional soccer player most notably coached the national team at the 2007 Women’s World Cup, leading them to the quarterfinals. Before that, Ryan also coached at Wisconsin, Colorado College and Southern Methodist.
Ryan took over the program right after the World Cup from former head coach Debbie Rademacher, who stepped down after building the Wolverines’ program from scratch in 1993. Rademacher finished 3-9-6 in her last season. Ryan’s hire at the time was seen as a way to inject energy into a stale program; Michigan made the NCAA Tournament in nine out Rademacher’s 14 years, but didn’t advance past the first round in any of her last four seasons.
But the Wolverines followed an eerily similar path under Ryan as they did under Rademacher. During his tenure, Ryan amassed a 103-64-36 (.596) record but finished this past season 3-5-3 in Big Ten play (6-6-6 overall). Just like Rademacher’s teams, Michigan missed the NCAA Tournament its first three seasons with Ryan as the coach and followed that up with a period of relative success. Both coaches went as far as the NCAA quarterfinals.
Unlike his predecessor though, Ryan’s time as coach was marred by inconsistency. The Wolverines have not advanced past the first round of the tournament since 2013, when they made a run to the quarterfinals. Michigan hasn’t won a game in the Big Ten Tournament since 2015, either.
“I have enjoyed my time at the University of Michigan and appreciate the opportunity to lead these student-athletes,” Ryan said in the press release. “I am proud of our successes and look forward to my next professional opportunity.”
The athletic department has already started the process of looking for another coach. When asked for comment, the University referred The Michigan Daily to the press release.