Sporting KC announce Vermes departure after winless start to 2025

Sporting Kansas City have announced they have mutually agreed to part ways with head coach Peter Vermes.

Vermes, who had been a technical director at the club since 2006, was placed in interim charge in August 2009 before getting the permanent job at the end of that season.

He is the longest-serving coach in Sporting KC’s history and was also the longest-tenured head coach in MLS.

Vermes took charge of 609 matches in all competitions, more than half of the games in the club’s 30-year history and the most ever for a manager at one MLS club.

In MLS, he oversaw 511 regular-season games, winning 203 of those. He has taken charge of the third-most matches among head coaches in the competition’s history.

The 58-year-old led Sporting KC to the MLS Cup in 2013, having topped the Eastern Conference that season, and won three US Open Cup titles, also reaching the final in 2024, where they lost in extra time to Los Angeles FC.

He also led them to 11 playoff appearances, including a club record of eight in a row between 2011-2018, and four first-place finishes in the regular season.

Sporting KC mutually agrees to part ways with Manager Peter Vermes.

— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) March 31, 2025

“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.”

He leaves with the club bottom of the Western Conference without a win, having gained just one point from their six games so far in 2025.

Kerry Zavagnin has been appointed as Sporting’s interim head coach.