Utah Royals FC has removed the interim tag and made Jimmy Coenraets the team’s head coach.
Coenraets helped lead a midseason turnaround after the Royals fired coach Amy Rodriguez midway through the team’s inaugural season.
“As the youngest coach in the league, I aim to grow alongside the club and work towards a long-term vision that benefits our fans and the community,” Coenrates, the 29-year-old Belgian, said in a news release. “We’ve already seen a fantastic support base in our first year as an expansion team, and it’s my goal to give them even more reasons to support us and come back. I am looking forward to building on the foundations that have been established.”
The Royals have gone 5-3-2 since Coenraets took over on June 30. The 17 points they earned in those 10 games were more than triple the points the club earned in Rodriguez’s 16 matches at the helm.
“The team has scored 23 goals across all competitions since the coaching change, a stark difference from the 7 goals scored to open the season,” the Royals said in the news release.
Coenraets' contract runs through the 2027 season.
“Despite the adversity that we have faced this season, Jimmy has exemplified what it means to be part of the Utah Royals with his dedication to the game as well as Utah’s incredible community,” said John Kimball, president of Utah Royals FC and Real Salt Lake. He has integrated seamlessly into the team environment, building productive and positive relationships with players and staff. We remain focused on building a team on and off the field that can compete at the highest level for years to come, and we believe that Jimmy is the ideal candidate to lead us forward.”
URFC has gone unbeaten over its last four games. The club plays its final match of the season on Nov. 1 when Gotham FC comes to America First Field in Sandy.
