The end of the 2013 MLS campaign will mark the end of an era for FC Dallas.
Head coach Schellas Hyndman announced on Friday that he will resign from his position at the end of the current season, leaving the MLS franchise after over five years in charge.
“I truly appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the FC Dallas family for the last five years,” Hyndman said. “After a lot of thought and consideration, I feel the time is right for me to step down as head coach of FC Dallas. I want to thank the Hunt family for their support and friendship, our players, coaches and front office for their dedication and effort during my time here, and especially the great FC Dallas fans.”
Hyndman’s crowning season came in 2010 when he was named MLS Coach of the Year, the first manager in FCD history to grab that accolade as his side made it to MLS Cup 2010 but narrowly lost to Colorado in overtime.
Since then, Dallas have struggled with injuries, poor transfers and many other issues hampering the Texas club. Despite that, FC Dallas Chairman Clark Hunt thanked Hyndman for his dedication to the club.
“My family and I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Schellas both as a coach and as a person, and we sincerely appreciate his contributions to the club over the last five-and-a-half seasons,” Hunt said. “Having had the pleasure of knowing him for the last 30 years, I have seen first-hand his commitment to his craft and the passion he has for the game. We wish him well in the next chapter of his life, and he will be missed.”
Hyndman, 61, holds a 62-57-58 record as FC Dallas head coach and goes into his final two games in charge of FCD with the 2013 playoffs out of reach.
His final home game in charge will be against Seattle on Saturday, and he will end his time in charge of Dallas with a road game against the San Jose Earthquakes on October 26.
A long-time coach of Southern Methodist University and a guru at the collegiate level for over 31 years, Hyndman made a seamless switch to professional soccer in 2008 and made FC Dallas into a Western Conference force.
But after a bright start to 2013 faltered and the Texas outfit spiraled out of playoff contention throughout the second half of the campaign, the time for someone else to move the club forward arrived. This is not the way Hyndman would’ve wanted to bow out, however he’s etched his name into MLS history with his hard work and dedication at the helm of FC Dallas.