Sporting Kansas City announced today that the club has mutually agreed to part ways with Manager Peter Vermes, ending his trophy-laden run as Major League Soccer’s longest-tenured head coach and one of the longest-serving managers in global soccer.
Kerry Zavagnin has been appointed as Sporting’s interim head coach, effective immediately.
“It would be hard to list all of the people I want to thank after 20 seasons in managerial positions at Sporting Kansas City,” Vermes said. “I am thankful to everyone, especially ownership for giving me the opportunity of being a steward of this club for the past two decades. I wish the club nothing but the best in the future.”
Vermes became Sporting’s technical director in November 2006 and assumed head coaching duties in 2009, building a winning culture and orchestrating one of the greatest turnarounds in MLS history. Sporting flourished into a perennial championship contender and a model MLS organization under Vermes’ visionary stewardship.
In addition to hoisting the 2013 MLS Cup and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles in 2012, 2015 and 2017, Vermes guided the club to 11 playoff appearances—including eight straight from 2011-2018—and four first-place finishes in the regular season. He remains the only person to win MLS Cup as a player and a coach with the same team, having led Kansas City to the 2000 title as a standout central defender, and his three Open Cup championships were the most among active MLS coaches entering 2025. He ranks third on the all-time MLS chart with 203 regular season wins and concludes his tenure as the longest-serving head coach in Kansas City professional sports history.
Vermes coached 609 matches for Sporting in all competitions, more than half of the games in the club’s 30-year existence and the most ever for a manager at one MLS club. His 511 regular season matches coached are third-most all-time and his 17-season run at the helm of Sporting was at least seven seasons longer than any other active MLS head coach.
Inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2013, Vermes was named the inaugural MLS Sporting Executive of the Year in early 2019 for his exemplary leadership, dedication and strategic vision in guiding Sporting to long-term success—including the development of the Sporting Kansas City Academy and Sporting KC II. Under his guidance, Sporting has experienced remarkable growth across its enterprise with the openings of world-class Children’s Mercy Park in 2011 and state-of-the-art Compass Minerals National Performance Center in 2018. Vermes’ achievements within the Kansas City soccer landscape—alongside a passionate fanbase, strong civic leadership and first-class facilities across the region—helped pave the way for a monumental development when Kansas City was selected as a host city for FIFA World Cup 2026.
Vermes’ historic run as Kansas City’s head coach began on Aug. 4, 2009, punctuating the start of a winning era as the club rebranded to Sporting KC and moved into Children’s Mercy Park ahead of the 2011 season. He guided Sporting to first-place finishes in the Eastern Conference in 2011 and 2012, including a club-record 63-point regular season in 2012. That same year, Sporting captured the U.S. Open Cup—the club’s first trophy since 2004—with a home victory over Seattle Sounders FC on penalty kicks.
Sporting reached greater heights in 2013, winning the club’s second MLS Cup with an iconic penalty shootout win over Real Salt Lake at Children’s Mercy Park. Vermes also coached the MLS All-Stars in the 2013 MLS All-Star Game at the same stadium, two weeks before his selection into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Vermes propelled Sporting to a club-record eight straight playoff appearances from 2011-2018 and won two more Open Cups during that time—a shootout victory at the Philadelphia Union in 2015 and a 2-1 home triumph over the New York Red Bulls in 2017. In 2020, Vermes was instrumental in helping MLS establish detailed return-to-play protocols during Covid and guided Sporting to the top of the Western Conference standings for the second time in three seasons. His four first-place conference finishes since 2011 are more than any other MLS manager. Sporting remained a force in the West in 2021, finishing within three points of first place and sealing a 10th playoff berth in 11 seasons.
Sporting overcame a slow start to the 2023 campaign by going 12-7-5 in the club’s last 24 regular season matches to reach the playoffs. After eliminating the San Jose Earthquakes in the Western Conference wild card round, Sporting became just the second No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in the MLS Cup Playoffs by sweeping archrival St. Louis City SC with an emphatic 4-1 road win in Game 1 and a euphoric 2-1 home victory in Game 2, sending Kansas City to the conference semifinals for the fourth time in six years.
The 2024 campaign saw Vermes lead his team to the U.S. Open Cup Final, where Sporting fell in extra time at LAFC to break the club’s run of four consecutive cup final victories.
A native of Delran Township, New Jersey, Vermes enjoyed an outstanding playing career from 1988-2002. He notably earned 67 caps for the United States Men’s National Team, representing his country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea and the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, while showcasing a unique aptitude to play in attack, midfield and defense. He was the first American player to compete in the top divisions of Hungary (1989) and the Netherlands (1990), then spent four seasons in Spain’s second division (1991-1995) before returning to the U.S. for Major League Soccer’s inaugural 1996 campaign.
Vermes started 208 of 209 MLS appearances over seven seasons, recording 11 goals and 19 assists while reaching the playoffs every year. He joined Kansas City ahead of the club’s historic 2000 season, winning the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup double while earning MLS All-Star, Best XI and Defender of the Year accolades. He ended his playing career following the 2002 campaign, his third with Kansas City, and has been involved in a record 681 MLS matches as a player or head coach.
Like Vermes, Zavagnin has been inducted into the Sporting Legends hall of honor as one of the club’s most accomplished leaders. He made 291 appearances for Kansas City as a player from 2000-2008—earning MLS Best XI and All-Star nods in 2004—and has served as an assistant with the club since 2009. As a member of the club for 26 consecutive seasons, he holds the MLS record for most seasons with one club as a player or coach.
