By OkayGoal 
With the NWSL season underway, the turnover teams experienced during the offseason is evident. Whether it’s because of big-time acquisitions or the continuity of young rosters, loftier expectations have been in store for many teams across the league.
This concept is most prevalent when looking at the three California teams. While Bay FC, San Diego Wave and Angel City all experienced notable changes to their rosters, their success in large part lies in the hands of their managers. All three coaches bring serious European experience to their respective clubs, and look to have their teams playing meaningful soccer down the stretch of the 2026 season.
Emma Coates – Bay FC
Bay FC’s big splash in the offseason was acquiring Claire Hutton. However, the club’s announcement of Emma Coates as its new manager was arguably just as huge. The English-born Coates spent her entire life playing and coaching in England, but is now making the transition to coaching in the States.
Coates began her managerial career in fourth-tier English football with the Doncaster Rovers Belles. It wasn’t long until she became very involved on the international scene though, becoming a specialist coach for some of England’s national women’s youth teams. This would lead to Coates becoming the England U-19 manager for roughly a year, followed by a few years managing the England U-23 squad.
Very quickly, Coates’ bright future as a soccer manager became so evident that it led to her earning the manager job at Bay FC. After a mediocre, 4-win season in 2025, Bay FC turned to Coates to lead a revamped roster back to the playoffs.
Jonas Eidevall – San Diego Wave FC
San Diego ended 2025 with a solid regular season, but a disappointing end to the year after a quarter-final loss to Portland. This 2025 season was completed with Jonas Eidevall at the helm, who will look to lead San Diego even further into the playoffs in 2026.
Eidevall is Sweden-born, which is exactly where he started his managerial career with Lunds BK. This would mark the beginning of another 12 years coaching soccer in Sweden, which included two stints as FC Rosengård’s manager, as well as a couple stints with other clubs doing assistant managing. In 2021, Eidevall was hired to manage Arsenal, where he would coach 80 wins in 120 games, as well as win two FA Women’s League Cups with the European giant.
It was prior to the 2025 NWSL season that Eidevall was announced as the new manager of San Diego Wave FC. Now, in his second season managing the club, Eidevall has San Diego off to a red hot start, winning 4 of 5 matches and starting the season in the driver’s seat for the league.
Alexander Straus – Angel City FC
Similar to Eidevall, Alexander Straus is coaching Angel City FC to a strong start to the 2026 season after taking the reins in 2025. The Norwegian brings lots of European experience to a young Angel City team that is looking to qualify for its first playoffs in a couple of years.
Straus has loads of experience managing in Europe, which includes over 12 years in Norway coaching multiple clubs and Norwegian national youth teams. However, it was from 2022 to 2025 that Straus really put his name on the map, coaching European powerhouse Bayern Munich. This time was tremendously successful for Straus, winning the Frauen-Bundesliga three consecutive years.
Midway through 2025, Straus made the jump from Munich to Los Angeles, taking over as Angel City FC’s manager. Now, in his first full season as the manager of Angel City, Straus has the club off to a very solid start, winning 3 out of their first 4 games. This start, paired with Straus’ esteemed coaching credentials, make Angel City one of the more promising and exciting clubs to look out for during the 2026 NWSL season.
Featured image via @straus.alexander