The San Jose Earthquakes announced on Monday that they have parted ways with general manager John Doyle, effective immediately.
The move marks the departure of one of Major League Soccer's longest-serving executives. A US national teamer and Quakes legend during his own playing career, which ended in 2000, Doyle has worked in and around the club in multiple positions since then, including assistant coach and television broadcast commentator. In 2005, he was the inaugural member of the San Jose Earthquakes Hall of Fame.
San Jose technical director Chris Leitch has been named interim general manager, while head coach Dominic Kinnear and the coaching staff will continue in their roles.
"I would like to express my sincere thanks to John for his nine years of service with the team as general manager," Earthquakes president Dave Kaval said in a statement. "He was an outstanding leader who helped relaunch the Earthquakes in 2007. We will be forever grateful for his contributions to the San Jose Earthquakes. We wish John the best of luck in his future endeavors.
"At this time, we feel that the organization needs a fresh approach to our soccer operations. We believe that we have the players and coaching staff that can make a run at the playoffs and we are fully behind their efforts."
Doyle was named the general manager of the reborn Earthquakes on Oct. 3, 2007, as they began their return to MLS following a two-year hiatus after the relocation of the original team to Houston, where they became the Dynamo.
Under Doyle's tenure, San Jose made the playoffs twice and captured the Supporters' Shield with the league's best regular-season record in 2012. At present they sit in seventh place in the Western Conference with a 7-8-11 record (32 points from 26 games), three points back of the final playoff berth, which is currently occupied by the Portland Timbers.
"I want to thank the Earthquakes ownership group and Dave Kaval for their support during my time at the Quakes," said Doyle in a club statement. "I also want to thank the players, the coaches and front office staff for all their hard work every day to make this organization better. I also want to recognize the great fans in San Jose and around the Bay Area that have always been loyal to this club. I wish the team and the organization the best of luck the rest of this year and into the future. I want to see this club succeed more than anyone."
