Courage change tone, offer clarity on Nahas firing

The North Carolina Courage opened Friday’s post-match press conference with a statement clarifying some of the details surrounding Wednesday’s dismissal of head coach Sean Nahas.

“The termination stemmed from a combination of compounding performance issues, culture issues, and a perceived lack of fit, that created an environment that club leadership felt was untenable to the point that change was necessary at the head coaching position,” a team spokesperson said.

It was then opened up to questions with an acknowledgement that there would be some about the coaching change. The tone marked a stark contrast to the previous day when sporting director Dr. Ceri Bowley stonewalled every effort to suss out even the most minor detail about why Nahas was fired.

“Definitely a tough week for the team,” Courage captain Denise O’Sullivan said. “We all found out Wednesday. We all got phone calls, and that’s how we found out. There (were) obviously some different reactions.”

On Thursday, Bowley refused to address when or how the players found out about the change.

O’Sullivan went on to thank Nahas, whose tenure at the club predated her arrival in 2017. She added that her relationship with Nahas has always been strong.

The Courage lost 2-1 to the Dash on Friday in Nathan Thackaray’s first match as acting head coach. Thackaray led the team for three weeks before the summer break when Nahas was away from the team for medical reasons. That absence was not related to his termination as head coach.