Birmingham Legion FC fires head coach Tom Soehn
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The first head coach in Birmingham Legion FC history was fired Wednesday.
The club made the announcement of Tom Soehn's dismissal after Legion FC failed to win in its four contests in its 2025 USL Championship slate, holding a record of 0-2-2. Soehn, who took the head coaching job in August 2018, led the club to 90 wins and 37 draws in 207 matches.
'This was an incredibly difficult decision and one that was not taken lightly, because Tommy played a pivotal role in building the foundation of this club,' said Legion FC Chief Soccer Officer and CEO Jay Heaps in a statement. 'However, results and performances have not progressed, and we felt a change was necessary at this time to move the club forward. We thank Tommy for his hard work and dedication to our organization and wish him and his family the best moving forward.'
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Legion FC made the USL Championship Playoffs every season from 2019-23. Soehn's accomplishments with Birmingham include reaching the quarterfinals of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and defeating Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer in Protective Stadium the same year. The club, however, started its current struggling trend in 2024 when it went 13-6-15 in USL Championship play.
Eric Avila, who was serving as the club's first team assistant coach, is now Birmingham's interim coach. Avila joined the Legion FC coaching staff in 2022 and was a head coach in MLS Next in 2021. Avila competed in 34 contests for Legion FC in 2019.
Avila's first match in that capacity will be Sunday against El Paso Locomotive LC, which is set to start at 4 p.m. in Protective Stadium. The club stated it is conducting a national search to find its next head coach.
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