By OkayGoal 
Credit: Isaiah J. Downing | Imagn Images
Hines’s departure marks end of an era in Orlando
On Monday the Orlando Pride announced it was parting ways with head coach Seb Hines and goalkeeper coach Paul Crichton. “[Hines] will always have a special place in our history for helping lead the Pride to levels it had never reached before,” the statement read. “However, as we look toward the Club’s long-term vision and future objectives, we believe that this is the appropriate time for a leadership change.” The Pride are currently 12th in the table (a season worst) and five points back from the playoff line.
Team captain Haley McCutcheon and interim coach Yolanda Thomas met with the media on Wednesday. McCutcheon there was a “heaviness” among the team when they processed the news.
Orlando has come a long way since Hines’s appointment in November 2022. They had amassed 12 wins, 14 draws, and 20 losses across the franchise’s first two seasons. The club’s former recruitment of star players (Alex Morgan, Marta, Ali Krieger, and Ali Riley) had not yielded results. Hines’s hiring was also historic in that he became the first full-time Black manager in the NWSL. The former Orlando City SC player led his team to seventh place in his second season; one spot shy of the playoff line. The arrival of Barbra Banda changed the club’s fortunes. The Pride did the double in 2024 becoming just the second NWSL team to do so. They were narrowly defeated 1-0 by eventual champions Gotham FC in the semifinals of the 2025 playoffs.
The departure of general manager Haley Carter in December proved to be a turning point. The club failed to add reinforcements in key areas in the offseason. The Pride remain light in defense (especially in Emily Sams’s absence) and are overly reliant on Banda up top. The Pride are also beset by injuries and could not even fill out their bench in their 2-1 loss against Utah.
This is a results-oriented business and Hines’s dismissal is a stark reminder.
The race for eighth place
The cream of the crop has separated through 19 matchweeks. Barring a late collapse, it appears the current top seven will remain lodged in playoff positions through the final stretch of the season. No team has yet to lock up the final playoff spot, though the Seattle Reign have occupied eighth place for the past three weeks.
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