Flynn in February announced he would soon bring his 19-year career at U.S. Soccer to a closeGETTY IMAGES
U.S. Soccer Federation CEO DAN FLYNN will "officially leave his post" on Sept. 16, and the "search for his replacement is ongoing," according to Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.com. USSF Chief Stakeholders Officer BRIAN REMEDI has been "given the added title of Chief Administrative Officer to ease with the transition." Flynn had announced at the USSF's Annual General Meeting back in February that he "would be stepping down." However, the USSF has been "unable to find a replacement as of yet." The USSF "hopes that the process to replace Flynn will be completed" by the end of '19, though it "could run" into January '20. Flynn's 19-year career at the USSF "coincided with a period of dramatic growth" (ESPN.com, 9/9).
INTERNAL ISSUES: In N.Y., Andrew Das notes the USSF is "facing multiple lawsuits, including one by its world champion women's team, and internal dissent." The decision to "place Remedi in charge, even temporarily, is a blow to the chief executive ambitions" of USSF Chief Commercial Officer JAY BERHALTER. Berhalter was "viewed as the leading candidate to replace Flynn until this spring," when USSF employees "took the unusual step of mounting a coordinated campaign to alert federation board members of their dissatisfaction." That campaign took the form of "more than a dozen scathing anonymous reviews by current and former federation employees on the networking website Glassdoor." While Flynn is leaving the USSF, his career in soccer "may not be ending." MLS Commissioner DON GARBER on Saturday "offered a hint that Flynn might be headed toward a more formal role" with the St. Louis expansion team (N.Y. TIMES, 9/10).
WHERE TO LOOK: SI.com's Grant Wahl wrote the USSF "needs to hire someone from the outside" to replace Flynn. However, sources said that one issue with hiring an outside candidate as CEO is that "interest in the job is low given how many current lawsuits" the USSF is facing (SI.com, 9/9).
