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Orlando Pride fire Seb Hines, name Yolanda Thomas interim coach

Tom McMillan · · Updated

The Orlando Pride parted ways with head coach Seb Hines, effective immediately, the club announced Monday. Assistant coach Yolanda Thomas has been named interim head coach, while goalkeeper coach Paul Crichton is also leaving the club.

In announcing the move, Pride vice president of soccer operations and general manager Caitlin Carducci said the club believed it was “the appropriate time for a leadership change” as it looks toward its long-term objectives.

Hines was promoted to the permanent job in November 2022 after first serving as Orlando’s interim coach. He led the Pride to the most successful season in club history in 2024, when Orlando won its first NWSL Shield and first NWSL Championship.

But the team’s results had declined since then. Orlando went 12-8-9 in 2025 and was 8-2-12 through Aug. 31, 2026. The Pride averaged 2.25 points per match in 2024, 1.52 in 2025 and 1.18 through Aug. 31 this season, according to NWSL analytics data covering completed matches with expected-goals coverage.

Thomas joined the Pride as an assistant coach ahead of the 2023 season. She also served as head coach of the U.S. Under-23 Women’s Youth National Team during two camps in 2025.

Thomas will take charge for the first time Sunday against the Houston Dash, with Orlando beginning the final stretch of the season five points behind eighth-place Seattle in the playoff race.

Morning brief

No results in the last day; next up, San Diego Wave v Kansas City Current on Friday

What happened in the last day, what is next over the coming two days, and one thing the table is telling us.

  • Results: none in the last day
  • Next: Wave v Current, Friday 10:00 PM ET at Snapdragon Stadium
  • Table truth: Chicago Stars (16th) have goal difference -40 against an expected -44.1

Automated brief from the NWSL Notebook daily-briefs pipeline, computed from the published record ·

What happened

No results in the last day.

What is next

  • San Diego Wave v Kansas City Current, Friday 10:00 PM ET at Snapdragon Stadium

One explanation

Chicago Stars (16th) have goal difference -40 against an expected -44.1, the widest gap between results and chances in the table.

Fixtures and results →

Table truth

Chicago Stars outrun their numbers most: goal difference -40 against an expected -44.7

The three widest gaps between goal difference and expected goal difference in the 2026 table: Chicago Stars, Seattle Reign and Houston Dash.

  • Chicago Stars (16th): goal difference -40, expected goal difference -44.7
  • Seattle Reign (8th): goal difference +3, expected goal difference +0.6
  • Houston Dash (12th): goal difference -5, expected goal difference -6.1

Automated brief from the NWSL Notebook daily-briefs pipeline, computed from the published record ·

The widest gaps between goal difference and expected goal difference in the 2026 table, the positions most likely to be finishing luck.

  • Chicago Stars (16th): goal difference -40, expected goal difference -44.7

  • Seattle Reign (8th): goal difference +3, expected goal difference +0.6

  • Houston Dash (12th): goal difference -5, expected goal difference -6.1

The gap is a team’s goal difference less its expected goal difference over the season so far; the larger it is, the more the position rests on finishing rather than on chances.

Full table →