After six seasons, the New England Revolution officially parted ways with head coach Jay Heaps on Tuesday. Assistant coach Tom Soehn will take over on an interim basis for the five matches remaining in the 2017 regular season.
The move follows a pair of heavy defeats that all but torpedoed the team's playoff hopes, the Revolution – who are eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 10W-14L-5D record. Despite two wins to start the month of September, a 7-0 whitewash at the hands of Atlanta United on Sept. 13 followed by a 3-1 loss at Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, sealed Heaps' fate.
The news of Heaps' firing was originally reported by Goal.com's Ives Galarcep on Monday night.
“Jay has done a great deal for the club over the years and had considerable achievements. I have great respect for him and wish him well in the next steps of his career,” New England Revolution GM Mike Burns said in a club statement. “This decision has not been taken lightly, however, we need to do better than the results have shown from the last couple of seasons and this season left us convinced we need to go in a different direction.”
Despite boasting a number of high-profile attackers – including Lee Nguyen, Kei Kamara, Juan Agudelo and the recently acquired Krisztian Nemeth – as well as a revamped defense, the Revs have struggled to hold their own in a much-improved Eastern Conference.
Heaps, 41, leaves with a 75W-81L-43D record in his six seasons with the Revs. A long-time player for the Revolution (2001-2009), he led the team to runner-up finishes in the 2014 MLS Cup and the 2016 U.S. Open Cup, in addition to three consecutive playoff appearances from 2013-2015.
