COLUMBUS – The Columbus Crew and General Manager Issa Tall announced today that Henrik Rydström has been relieved of his duties as head coach. Laurent Courtois has been named the Black & Gold’s interim head coach.
“We unfortunately have not capitalized on opportunities or produced the results that our Club and supporters deserve. We are confident that we have the talent on our roster to consistently compete for championships, and we believe this change best positions us to accomplish that goal with the number of matches we have left this season,” said Tall. “We thank Henrik for his commitment to the Crew, and we expect a successful transition based on Laurent’s familiarity with our Club, players and league.”
After Rydström was hired as the Crew’s ninth full-time head coach on Dec. 31, 2025, the team started the 2026 season with a 3-7-4 record (13 points) and currently sits in 13th place in the Eastern Conference and 26th in the MLS Supporters’ Shield standings. The Crew have 20 MLS regular season matches remaining this year and stand only four points outside of playoff position.
Courtois – who holds both a U.S. Soccer Federation Pro and UEFA ‘A’ coaching license – returned to the Crew on Jan. 13 as First Team Assistant Coach. He previously served as head coach of CF Montréal in 2024, leading the side to its first playoff berth since 2022. After originally joining the Crew in 2019 as Under-17 Academy head coach, Courtois was promoted to Crew 2 head coach in 2022 and earned the inaugural MLS NEXT Pro Coach of the Year award after directing the side to a league title and back-to-back MLS NEXT Pro Cup appearances.
A former professional player, Courtois played for Spain’s Levante UD; France’s AC Ajaccio, Toulouse FC, FC Istres and Grenoble Foot 38; England’s West Ham United FC and Chivas USA and the LA Galaxy. He also served as a player/coach for LA Galaxy II during its inaugural 2014 season.
The Crew have also parted ways with Assistant Coach Theodor Olsson and Analyst Mak Pakhei.
Columbus returns to ScottsMiracle-Gro Field for two matches this week. The Crew first face New York City FC on Wednesday (May 20) in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals [7:30 p.m. ET / Paramount+ / Alt 105.7 FM (English)]. The Club hosts Atlanta United FC on Sunday [5:00 p.m. ET / Apple TV / Alt 105.7 FM / iHeartRadio app (English); La Mega 103.1 FM, 107.1 FM / La Mega app (Spanish)] for its final match before MLS pauses play for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
