HERRIMAN, Utah, July 1, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) – Utah Royals FC fired head coach Amy Rodriguez on Sunday after the club began the 2024 National Women's Soccer League season with a 2-11-2 record.

The dismissal of the new head coach is part of a restructuring of the club in the first year of its return to the NWSL, Utah Royals FC said in a press release. The Royals are in last place in the NWSL table with only eight points in 15 games played.

Utah Royals FC also fired goalkeeping coach Maryse Bard-Martel and announced that team president Michelle Hyncik would move to a legal role in co-owner David Blitzer's office.

Assistant coach Jimmy Coenraets has been appointed interim coach, team officials said.

“This expansion season has been full of lessons and learnings, and we are now focused on reorganizing leadership efforts on and off the field,” said Real Salt Lake President John Kimball, who will oversee the Royals' business operations during the search for a new team president.

“We are grateful and appreciate Amy, Michelle and Maryse and their efforts to reconnect the Royals with Utah's incredible fans and the international soccer community. We believe women's sports are an important part of Utah's culture,” Kimball said.

“Our club and our ownership group are committed to delivering a product that our fans can be proud of. Although we have faced adversity this season, we are focused on building a team off and on the field that can compete at the highest level for years to come,” he said.

The Royals supported the hiring of Rodriguez in April 2023, making her the face of the team's “Return to Royals.”

Although she was never a head coach, Rodriguez was a world champion, Olympic gold medalist and two-time NWSL champion. She was also the club's captain during the inaugural Utah Royals FC, scoring 15 goals in 51 games from 2018 to 2020 before the club was sold and relocated to become the Kansas City Current.

She won back-to-back NWSL championships with FC Kansas City in 2014 and 2015. During her NWSL career, she also played for North Carolina Courage, OL Reign and Kansas City Current.

Rodriguez also had a successful international career with the United States women's national team, winning gold medals with the U.S. national team at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. During her 13-year career, she scored 30 goals and 19 assists in 132 games for the United States.

The Orange County, California native retired from the NWSL after the 2021 season and worked as an assistant coach at her alma mater, the University of Southern California, in 2022.

Rodriguez played at USC from 2005 to 2008 and led the Trojans to their first NCAA women's soccer championship in 2007. She finished her career with 31 goals and 17 assists.

Coenraets already has experience as a head coach, having coached the Oud-Heverlee Leuven women's team in the Belgian Women's Super League from 2020 to 2024. In his five seasons as coach of the club, he achieved a record of 77-26-12.