After an offseason spanning just 77 days, the 2026 Major League Soccer season is upon us.

Thirty teams will begin their arduous campaign, a race to see who will remain standing after a grueling 34-game season culminating in playoffs and MLS Cup. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming to North America this summer, it’s a watershed moment for the sport, as well as an incredibly difficult season for clubs to navigate.

On the impending edge of the new season, we’re looking at the men who are tasked with navigating the season. Here at Soccer America today, we’re looking at five of the best head coaches in MLS. This isn’t an exclusive list, nor is it a ranking. This is merely a look at five coaches who — in an age of wondering how much managers actually matter — have an outsized impact on how their clubs perform.

Onward!

Mikey Varas (San Diego FC)

San Diego entered its 2025 expansion season widely picked to finish at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Their eventual finish on top of the table and run to the Western Conference final would have been impressive on its own as an expansion team. With next to no expectations heading into the season, it was the most impressive expansion season in MLS history. (When the Chicago Fire won MLS Cup 1998, the league was only 3 years old and comprised of 12 teams).

Under former USMNT assistant Mikey Varas, San Diego doesn’t just white-knuckle their way to results. They play some of the most free-flowing, bold and attractive soccer in MLS.

San Diego has already begun their 2026 season, taking down Liga MX giants Pumas in the Concacaf Champions Cup by an emphatic 4-2 scoreline. And this series exemplified much of what is so special about this team under Varas.

They were fearless to play through pressure, with SuperDraft center back Manu Duah continuing to flourish as a press-resistant defender. Varas — along with general manager Tyler Heaps — has been amazingly capable of plucking young, talented players from relative obscurity and turning them into not just functional, but high-level pieces of his team. Right back Wilson Eisner started their Concacaf series and was stellar, a sneaky signing from San Jose’s MLS Next Pro team.

Under Varas, San Diego has a full year of foundations already built, and should continue to be one of the more exciting clubs to watch in 2026.