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Two days after the NWSL championship match—and just over a week after the Portland Thorns bowed out in the semifinals—the club has fired its head coach.
The Thorns front office has dismissed head coach Rob Gale, the club announced today, as well as first assistant coach Adam Day.
“We are grateful to Rob for his dedication to the Thorns and the positive influence he has had on our players and staff,” Thorns general manager Jeff Agoos said in the team’s release. “We thank Rob for his contributions and wish him the best in his next endeavor.”
A spokesperson for the club said Gale’s departure is the result of ownership wanting to take the club in a different direction. The Bhathal family bought the team in January of 2024; Gale was already in his position when Agoos took over the front office at the beginning of this year.
Gale has been with Portland since 2023, when he joined the team as an assistant coach under Mike Norris. When Norris moved to a technical director position within the organization in April 2024, Gale took over as the interim head coach—and was appointed to the permanent title in July of that year. He holds a record of 28 wins, 21 losses and 10 draws across his time at the head of the Thorns, leading the club to a sixth-place NWSL finish in 2024 and a third-place finish in 2025.
Outside the on-field successes—getting a team with an injury list as long as a CVS receipt to all the way to the NWSL semifinals isn’t an accomplishment to be scoffed at, especially when said team is the youngest in the league—Gale made a reputation for himself as someone who led with a person-first focus and respect for those around him.
This years’ Thorns squad couldn’t seem to praise the dynamic of the team enough, with multiple players saying it was the best group they’d ever been a part of.
Gale brought members of his coaching staff into postgame press conferences and circled the room, shaking each attendee’s hand before taking his spot at the podium. (Though it’s worth noting here, that Gale’s tenure hasn’t been perfect—and he earned his fair share of league fines for complaining about refereeing and had to sit out a game due to yellow card accumulation for his protests from the Thorns’ bench.)
Assistant coach Sarah Lowdon will take the helm as Portland’s interim head coach while the club searches for a permanent hire. Lowdon has been a member of the Thorns’ staff since 2023 and previously served as both an assistant and interim head coach for the Houston Dash.
