Houston Dash part ways with head coach Sam Laity
The Houston Dash announced today that they have parted ways with head coach Sam Laity. Houston is currently in 10th place in the NWSL table with a record of 4-6-8. The team also won two and lost four games in this season’s Challenge Cup. Laity was named head coach on December 21, 2022 and was in his first season as the team’s head coach, and his first season as the head man after spending ten years as an assistant with OL Reign.
Houston Dash president Jessica O’Neill and general manager Alex Singer met with the media this afternoon to further discuss the move. "This is a difficult decision to make at any point and in any role,” O’Neill said. “This is a reflection of the ambitions that this club has. We haven't veered away from these ambitions, since the very beginning, since I arrived last March, about 18 months ago. We want to win on and off the field. We want this to be a destination of choice for the top in the world; that's players, coaches, staff, business operations, etc. When we bring these incredible people in, retaining the talent is just as important. That's a lot of what Alex is talking about from a roster-building standpoint. There's a core group of incredible players and athletes that are here. Some of them are newer additions to our team and to our city, but making sure that they want to play out as much of their career in Houston as possible is important to us. All of those things were factors in understanding both the short-term and the long-term implications of a decision like this, that, again, is never easy to make. Just to echo one more time, we appreciate Sam (Laity), appreciate his professionalism and his optimism and the league experience that he brought to our organization in the time that he was here."
Singer was asked if the decision to part ways with Laity was solely performance based. “It’s a combination of both,” Singer said. “I will say that we have very clear goals on the pitch, but we also have clear goals off the pitch, and part of the process to be successful in bringing championships and trophies to Houston is that process. Yes, 100 percent, the results don't reflect where we want to be. I will make that very clear, especially with the roster that we have and continue to build. But I will say that there are a lot of things that go into management and the management of players and building a team. Sometimes something is missing within those relationships, and it's a few things that were both on and off the field.”
After recent issues across NWSL and the world of women’s soccer, Singer’s answer brings up other questions about what off the field things could have led to this decision. She was quick to dismiss any mistreatment of the players by Laity. “No. I want to be very clear. Absolutely not,” Singer said when asked if there was any mistreatment of the players. “There was nothing related to the treatment of players. I want to make sure that is very, very clear.”
The Dash came into this season with high expectations after making the playoffs for the first time in club history. Juan Carlos Amoros left as interim head coach and the club brought in Laity. Singer and staff brought in a number of players and felt they were in a position to compete again this season. They haven’t done that. The team is the best in the league defensively, conceding the least number of goals. On the other side, they’re the worst offensively, scoring just 12 goals in 18 reguar season matchs. “We have high expectations and very clear goals,” Singer said. “We came off a historic season last year, making the playoffs for the first time in the team's history and performing at a very high level. That's one that we wish to not only sustain but increase. We also worked very hard to bring in and invest in key pieces and players to build on to that talent to our core roster that we had, and we continue to build. After considerable evaluation, we had to make a difficult decision that reflected the needs of the players. That's my priority and my responsibility to make sure that they're in the best position to be successful on the field and when they arrive every day. We haven't been performing to expectations. We've had tremendous success in some places, specifically defensively, but we've been lacking in other areas where we had higher expectations. Moving forward, we felt that we needed to head in another direction, both short and long term, and this was the best time as we continue to push for a postseason run.”
Singer and O’Neill both echoed that the team can still make a playoff run. The Dash currently sit six points behind the last playoff spot with just four matches to play. It’s certainly doable, but is an uphill battle. So, who will try and lead the team on that remarkable run? Well, it’s not necessarily going to be Sarah Lowdon, who was the acting head coach last season before Amoros’ arrival. “Sarah (Lowdon) stepped in when the team needed her the most last year and continues to develop here with the club,” Singer said when asked about Lowdon taking over as interim head coach. “We’re very happy to have her on our staff. She did a tremendous job last year and has done so in her role now this season. Right now, there is a process that we're going about, and there are steps to that process. So, until we are comfortable in sharing more on that process, we won't comment further.”
If the team doesn’t make the playoffs this season, which seems the likely outcome, what’s next? What is the long-term plan? Counting acting and interim head coaches, a new head coach to replace Laity will be the fifth different person in charge of the Dash over the last two years. Singer said they hope to have a decision by November so the new head coach can integrate with the team and participate in all the offseason activities like the draft. There’s one thing Singer will be looking for in the next head coach that Laity didn’t have, previous head coaching experience. “With Sam (Laity’s) experience, there were certain expectations that we had,” Singer said. “Now going through the process, most definitely we will be looking for a coach who does have head coaching experience.”
