Sounders developmental coach named head coach of J-League team

UPDATE: John Hutchinson has been appointed head coach of the Yokohama F. Marinos of the J-League. Marinos finished ninth in the Japanese top division last year, but won it as recently as 2019.

The Seattle Sounders coaching staff will undergo at least some change this offseason after GM Garth Lagerwey announced the departure of John Hutchinson, who had just rejoined the organization about a year ago. Hutchinson had been working with the Sounders’ younger first-team players in a position that appears to have been created for him.

“I tip my hat to John Hutchinson for the job he did this year as our development coach,” Lagerwey said, noting the unique challenges this year presented due to players not being able to freely move between the Sounders and Tacoma Defiance. “Unfortunately, John’s going to be moving on; there’ll be an announcement on that in the future. Those are some big shoes to fill as we look to staff that position again.”

Hutchinson had previously been the head coach of the Defiance in 2018 after serving as S2’s assistant coach in 2017. He left the organization before the start of the 2019 to return to his native Australia, where he was an assistant with Western United only to come back last December. Hutchinson expressed gratitude for the Sounders “basically creating a role” for him, but said he’s leaving in order to pursue something that moves him closer to a top coaching job.

“I enjoyed the role, but one day, looking down the track, I want to be a head coach in my own right,” Hutchinson told The World Game.

Before he can do that, though, Hutchinson is having to endure some added Covid-19-related problems. He has to quarantine separately from his family through Christmas after testing positive following his marathon journey home.