Wilfried Nancy is a deserving winner of the MLS Coach of the Year

For the second straight week, a member of the Crew has won a major MLS award. Wilfried Nancy has been named the winner of the 2024 Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year. He becomes the first Crew head coach to win the award since 2008.

Nancy followed up the 2023 MLS Cup-winning season with one that saw the Crew set a club record with 66 points, a trip to the CONCACAF final, and a Leagues Cup title. In 2024, the Crew also set records for goals in an MLS season (72) and wins (19).

Some are going to claim some others are more deserving, but none had to navigate the packed schedule Nancy had to deal with. Those deep runs into CONCACAF and the Leagues Cup meant more games for the Crew. A lot more games. While other MLS coaches were focused on their lineup for the next game in the league, Nancy was juggling lineups and managing minutes in order to keep his team fresh. Despite his team playing far more games than anyone else in MLS, Nancy still guided the Crew to a second-place finish in the Supporter’s Shield. He most certainly deserves this award.

Nancy had this to say in a press release put out by the club,

""We accomplished many things together this past year. I’m proud of the group’s commitment to improving for ourselves, our teammates, our Club and our fans. That’s why this award is possible. Thank you.”"

This is the third straight season Nancy has been a finalist for the award. In addition to the last two years with the Crew, he was also a finalist in 2022, his last season with Montreal. In his two seasons with the Crew, he has led them to a 35-18-15 record.