Fire announce staff changes; Mikey Stephens hired
The Chicago Fire announced several changes to the team's staff this morning, the most notable of which is the addition of Michael Stephens as head of recruitment. Assistant coaches Paulo Nagamura and Carlos García Badías both left the club after one season.
Stephens, 35, joins the club immediately from the L.A. Galaxy, though he will not arrive in Chicago until later this offseason. The Galaxy qualified for the playoffs in two of his three seasons with the club, including coming within a whisker of winning the Western Conference title this season.
A former MLS defender who made 37 appearances for the Chicago Fire between 2015 and 2016, Stephens is well-regarded within the league. He previously was a member of the Fire's scouting team between 2018 and 2019, and has worked extensively with the new Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter both as a player (in L.A.) and as a U.S. Soccer scout between 2019 and 2022.
"I’ve seen firsthand the dedication and attention to detail that he brings to talent recruitment," Berhalter said in a press release. "His deep knowledge of MLS, combined with his experience at the international level, will be a significant asset as we look to build a winning team and establish the Fire as a leader in player recruitment."
Meanwhile, both Nagamura and García leave the club just one season after arriving at the start of 2024. Then-Head Coach Frank Klopas brought in the pair in January, but with the arrival of Berhalter, the installation of a new coaching staff always seemed likely.
Berhalter is expected to add his own assistants sometime in the coming months, though as preseason doesn't start for roughly two months, there is presently no rush. Should he choose to bring in someone from another MLS staff, whether for the first team or front office, it is also possible that he would have to wait until that team was eliminated from the playoffs (though Stephens does leave L.A. with the Galaxy still alive in the postseason).
