Georg Heitz resigns as Chicago Fire sporting director
Georg Heitz will depart the Chicago Fire at the conclusion of the 2024 season, the club confirmed in a statement today. Heitz says that he has chosen to resign for personal reasons and will return to his native Switzerland, remaining on FC Lugano's board of directors.
“Georg recently informed me of his decision to step away from the Fire after the season, and while I respect his choice to return to Switzerland, his presence and leadership will be greatly missed,” owner Joe Mansueto said in a statement. “I would like to sincerely thank Georg for his dedicated efforts to expand our football operations and build a structure that will set the club up for success.”
Since taking over at the end of the 2019 season, the 54-year-old has overseen three different head coaches and completed four playoff-less seasons, with this year's team on course to extend the drought further. Though the Fire has made tremendous progress in the last five years off the field in areas of scouting, transfers, and academy, it has not been reflected in MLS play; despite consistently having one of the biggest roster payrolls in the league, the Fire have not been able to accomplish anything of note on the field.
"Although the results have fallen short of our expectations, I am proud of our progress in other important areas and the working culture we’ve established," Heitz said. "We also remain fully committed to qualifying for the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs and will give everything until the very last moment to achieve that goal."
Heitz's decision means there is now some uncertainty surrounding the Fire's immediate future, as the club will now begin its search for a new sporting director. The last time the Fire were in such a position, when Mansueto first took over the club in 2019, head coach Veljko Paunović wasn't fired until November 13th, and Heitz wasn't hired until December 20th; now, the Fire will have several months before the end of the season to identify a successor, theoretically allowing for a much smoother transition.
In the meantime, Heitz will remain with the club for the remainder of the season and will continue to oversee head coach Frank Klopas as he seeks to end the longest active playoff drought in MLS. Once the Fire's 2024 comes to an end, he will continue to be a part of the board for sister club FC Lugano in Switzerland and will continue to be a part of the relationship between the two clubs.
