The Houston Dynamo have parted ways with head coach Wilmer Cabrera, the club announced Tuesday. Assistant coach Davy Arnaud will lead the team on an interim basis for the remainder of the season.
“We’d like to thank Wilmer for all of his hard work and dedication over the course of the last two and a half seasons with the Houston Dynamo, including last year’s U.S. Open Cup title. We wish him all the best moving forward,” said Dynamo SVP & GM Matt Jordan in a statement. “At this time, we as a club believe the team will benefit from a fresh perspective as we enter the final third of our season and make a push to qualify for the playoffs.”
Houston have lost their last four matches and are 2-11-1 in their last 14 games. Cabrera took over as Dynamo boss heading into the 2017 season, leading the club to the playoffs in his first season then winning the U.S. Open Cup in 2018. He finishes with a record of 32-39-22 as head coach of the Dynamo in MLS play.
Cabrera signed a contract extension through 2020 in March of last season. The 51-year-old former Colombian international defender had previously managed Chivas USA and Rio Grande Valley FC before the Dynamo.
Houston currently sit in ninth place in the Western Conference, six points below the playoff line.
Arnaud has served as an assistant coach for the Dynamo the last three seasons since joining the club in 2017. Before coming to Houston, he served as an assistant coach for D.C. United in 2016. The Nederland, Texas native holds a USSF A coaching license and has worked and played under some of the most successful coaches in MLS, including Bob Gansler and Peter Vermes in Kansas City, Jesse Marsch with Montreal and Ben Olsen at D.C. United. He started coaching after a storied 14-year playing in MLS.
The Dynamo are the fifth team to make a coaching change this season, after FC Cincinnati (Alan Koch), Colorado Rapids (Anthony Hudson), New England Revolution (Brad Friedel) and Real Salt Lake (Mike Petke).
