U.S. Soccer hired Mauricio Pochettino on a $6 million annual salary (plus bonuses) to the steer the USA to World Cup success on home soil.

Will it rehire him after the USMNT failed to reach the quarterfinals?

On Tuesday, within 24 hours of the USA’s 4-1 loss to Belgium, U.S. Soccer released this statement:

“We had positive conversations with Mauricio before the World Cup about the future. We agreed we would continue those conversations following a chance to rest and reflect post World Cup. We have a great deal of respect and gratitude for Mauricio, his staff and everyone part of the program. We have shared excitement about our potential and also shared clarity about the amount of work at all levels still required to achieve our ambition.”

There’s much to weigh in deciding whether to continue with the Argentine, whose U.S. job was his first as a national team coach.

Not to be taken lightly is whether the national team job is one that lends itself to a long-term coach.

In USMNT history, keeping head coaches on for a second cycle hasn’t gone well:

Bora Milutinovic (1994 World Cup, round of 16)
• Let go in 1995.
Bruce Arena (2002 World Cup, quarterfinals)
• Qualified the USA for the 2006 World Cup, where it exited in the group stage with two losses and a tie.
• Bob Bradley (2010 World Cup, round of 16)
Let go in 2011 after losing Gold Cup final to Mexico.
• Jurgen Klinsmann (2014 World Cup, round of 16)
Let go in 2016 after losses to Mexico and Costa Rica doomed the USA’s 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
• Gregg Berhalter (2022 World Cup, round of 16)
Let go in 2024 after being re-hired in June 2023. His departure followed a group-stage exit at U.S.-hosted Copa America.

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Soccer America Executive Editor Mike Woitalla has written freelance articles about soccer for more than 30 media outlets in nine nations. The winner of eight United Soccer Coaches Writing Contest awards,...