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SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Earthquakes have fired coach Dominic Kinnear and assistant John Spencer, naming former player Chris Leitch the replacement head coach.

Alex Covelo also was hired as an assistant coach, the team said Sunday in making the announcement. Assistant coach Steve Ralston and goalkeeper coach Tim Hanley were retained.

Kinnear was hired in 2015 — when San Jose opened its new state-of-the-art, soccer-only Avaya Stadium — for his second stint coaching the Quakes after also directing the club from 2004-05, compiling a combined record of 54-45-48.

The 38-year-old Leitch retired from the team following the 2011 season and has been working in various capacities, promoted to technical director In 2014. He was the interim general manager last year after the dismissal of John Doyle. Leitch played Major League Soccer from 2002-11, playing with the New York Red Bulls before signing with the Quakes in 2009 and playing 58 matches with the franchise.

Spencer was the Colorado Rapids first-team assistant coach last season, and member of the Rapids’ Gallery of Honor.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The San Jose Earthquakes have fired coach Dominic Kinnear and assistant John Spencer, naming former player Chris Leitch the replacement head coach.

Alex Covelo also was hired as an assistant coach, the team said Sunday in making the announcement. Assistant coach Steve Ralston and goalkeeper coach Tim Hanley were retained.

Kinnear was hired in 2015 — when San Jose opened its new state-of-the-art, soccer-only Avaya Stadium — for his second stint coaching the Quakes after also directing the club from 2004-05, compiling a combined record of 54-45-48.

The 38-year-old Leitch retired from the team following the 2011 season and has been working in various capacities, promoted to technical director In 2014. He was the interim general manager last year after the dismissal of John Doyle. Leitch played Major League Soccer from 2002-11, playing with the New York Red Bulls before signing with the Quakes in 2009 and playing 58 matches with the franchise.

Former Red Bulls defender Chris Leitch will be returning to Red Bull Arena next month - as head coach of the opposing San Jose Earthquakes.

On Sunday the Earthquakes announced in a news release that they had parted ways with (now-former) head coach Dominic Kinnear after a 5-6-5 start to the season, and simultaneously announced that Leitch would be taking over as the permanent head coach of the team.

The 38-year-old former defender spent five of his ten years of professional soccer with the club, first with the MetroStars from 2003 to 2005 and then in a second stint from 2007 to 2008.

The news release noted that Leitch has held experience in multiple positions throughout the San Jose front office:

Leitch, 38, has held a number of posts with the Quakes since retiring as a player following the 2011 season. He started as the club's academy director in 2012 and was promoted to technical director for the Quakes in 2015. He also served as interim general manager in 2016, following the departure of John Doyle. He becomes the ninth head coach in Quakes history.

Leitch joins Mike Petke (Real Salt Lake), Peter Vermes (Sporting KC) and Carl Robinson (Vancouver Whitecaps) as ex-Red Bulls players currently serving as MLS head coaches.

The Earthquakes will be visiting the Red Bulls in their next home match - Wednesday, July 19th.

Agustin Zalazar was given his marching orders after remonstrating with the match referee on the touchline San Jose Earthquakes coach Matias Almeyda saw his translator Agustin Zalazar sent off in the club's MLS draw with Colorado Rapids. Colorado lost ground at the top of the Western Conference after being held to a 1-1...

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Established
1994

City
San Jose

League History
1996 – Present / Major League Soccer

Team History
2000 - 2005, 2008 – Present / San Jose Earthquakes
1996 - 1999 / San Jose Clash

Nickname
Earthquakes – The name Earthquakes originally came from a newspaper contest in the San Jose Mercury News, in which fans were encouraged to send in suggestions for the name of the franchise. Earthquakes was chosen by the team's general manager Dick Berg, but was criticized due to San Jose's proximity to the San Andreas Fault.

Championship
MLS Cups 2
2003, 2001

Stadium
2015 - Present / Earthquakes Stadium
2008 - 2014 / Buck Shaw Stadium
1996 - 2005 / Spartan Stadium

Owner
2007 - Present / Lewis Wolff and John J. Fisher (Earthquakes Soccer, LLC)
2003 - 2005 / Anschutz Entertainment Group
2002 - 2003 / Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment and Anschutz Entertainment Group
2001 - 2002 / Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment
1999 - 2000 / Robert Kraft
1996 -1998 / Major League Soccer

SAN JOSE — The pivot toward Europe has continued for the Earthquakes, who Friday named Swede Mikael Stahre as the team’s fourth coach in four years.Stahre of BK Hacken will replace Chris Leitch, who after 18 games of coaching returns to his position at the team’s technical director. Chief assistant Alex Covelo also steps aside to continue his job as director of methodology.But the Quakes will retain assistant Steve Ralston, who came to San Jose three years ago with former coach Dominic Kinnear.General manager Jesse Fioranelli made the change six months after promoting Leitch in a stunning midseason shift. At the time, the new general manager said Leitch wasn’t a stopgap after Kinnear’s dismissal.But Friday Fioranelli said he and Leitch reconsidered after the season ended in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs with an embarrassing 5-0 defeat at Vancouver.“With Mika, we realized the priorities we have for the next years to come align with his skill set and track record,” Fioranelli said in a conference call Friday.Stahre, 42, has coached for a decade, mostly in Sweden with clubs including Vasby United, AIK, and IFK Goteborg. He also coached in Greece and China.Hacken finished fourth in the recently concluded Allsvenskan, Sweden’s top league. Stahre had a 14-6-10 record, and +14 goal-differential in his only season with the Hedge. Hacken had finished 10th the previous year.Fioranelli had a previous relationship with the Stockholm native, who was one of three finalists to take the Earthquakes in a new direction.“What struck my mind is the players we’ve spoken with said this is a coach who gives” them “security,” Fioranelli said. “He makes me feel like I can improve. With Mikeal we have a great leader.”Although the Quakes made the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time since 2012, Leitch’s rookie campaign was marked by inconsistent performances. The Quakes were 7-9-2 under Leitch with all of the losses lopsided.Leitch had been asked to step onto the field from his executive role when Fioranelli decided to let Kinnear go in June. The former Earthquakes fullback had no managerial experience other than earning coaching licenses in France.The second half of the season was marked by upheaval with Leitch replacing all-star goalkeeper David Bingham for newcomer Andrew Tarbell. Also, designated player Simon Dawkins and veteran Cordell Cato were cast aside for reasons that have yet to surface publicly.The changes perhaps were inevitable with a Swiss new general manager tasked with re-energizing a lowly club that has made the playoffs only three times since re-entering MLS in 2008.Fioranelli, who worked with AS Roma before joining the Quakes, has brought a European flavor to the roster and now the coaching staff. Stahre probably will hire an assistant to replace Covelo and a goalkeeper coach to take over for Tim Hanley, who part ways with the club last week.“I’m going to give everything I have to the Quakes and I am very excited about being a part of the future of the club,” Stahre said in a statement.MLS teams have not always fared well with foreign coaches perhaps because of a cultural chasm. But Fioranelli said the coach’s nationality had no bearing on the hire.“We want to stay true to the players in the United States,” he said.Argentine Tata Martino has immediately turned Atlanta United into an Eastern Conference power in its first season. Martino has coached the Argentina and Paraguay national teams and FC Barcelona.

San Jose Earthquakes coach Matias Almeyda saw his translator Agustin Zalazar sent off in the club's MLS draw with Colorado Rapids.

Colorado lost ground at the top of the Western Conference after being held to a 1-1 draw by San Jose at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in a highly-charged contest on Saturday night.

Frustrations on the visiting bench reached boiling point after Zalazar was sent to the stands midway through the second half, leaving Almeyda unable to communicate clearly with his players for the remainder of the match.

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What happened?

The Argentine manager was seen complaining to the match referee in the 70th minute with the help of his translator Zalazar, who currently serves as San Jose's head of coaching communications .

Almeyda received a booking for his part in the incident, but Zalazar was shown red for being too forceful with his protests, and subsequently stormed off in disbelief.

Honours even at Dick's Sporting Goods Park

Javier Eduardo Lopez gave San Jose the best possible start against Colorado, firing an unstoppable shot past opposition goalkeeper William Yarbrough in the 11th minute, which marked his third MLS goal since joining the club on loan from Liga MX outfit Guadalajara.

Colorado finished the first half without a single shot on target to their name, but emerged for the second with a renewed sense of purpose, and equalised via a cool Cole Bassett finish shortly before the hour mark.

Both sides pressed hard for a winner but the game ultimately ended in a draw which extends Colorado's unbeaten home record to seven games.

San Jose's season so far

In stark contrast to playoff-chasing Colorado, San Jose are currently embroiled in a battle to avoid finishing bottom of the Western Conference.

Almeyda's side have only won three of their opening 13 MLS games this season, and they have now gone nine matches without a victory, with three draws and six losses recorded in that period.

San Jose will, however, have another chance to bounce back when they take in a trip to Sporting KC on Wednesday.

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