Mar 15, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; North Carolina Courage head coach Sean Nahas watches during the first half against Racing Louisville FC at Lynn Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: EM Dash-Imagn Images

Courage Sporting Director Bowley: 'Multitude of factors' went into Nahas firing

Originally posted on The Equalizer | Last updated Aug 7, 2025 3:17 PM ET

North Carolina Courage Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director Dr Ceri Bowley offered little in terms of details, the morning after head coach Sean Nahas was fired in a brief statement.

The Courage media relations staff opened the press conference Thursday morning by stating that the focus was on Friday night’s match against the Houston Dash. However, Dr. Bowley was met with a myriad of questions about the coaching change.

“Multiple factors go into such a decision,” Dr. Bowley said. “We’re looking to finish the season strong. We’re on the cusp of the playoffs. So, our primary focus is to finish the season strong, and, hopefully at the end of it, achieve our goals.

“In situations like this, there’s always a multitude of factors that are considered,” Dr. Bowley, continued. “And a multitude of factors were considered in this situation. The standards of this club are extremely high. It was felt that there were reasons to make a change to uphold the standards we expect of the North Carolina Courage.”

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— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) August 6, 2025

When asked if the decision to fire Nahas was solely performance-based, or there was additional information that could be given, Dr. Bowley — who has been in his position for three months — repeated that the decision was made for a “multitude of reasons.”

When asked if the players were notified before the statement was released on social media, Dr. Bowley and Courage Director of Communications Jake Levy repeated that “internal process” would not be discussed. At the time of publishing, the Courage’s statement is not on the club’s official website.

Nahas was 36-34-19 in the regular season for the Courage. He went 0-3-0 in the playoffs. The 47-year-old coach led North Carolina to back-to-back NWSL Challenge Cup wins in 2022 and 2023.

Nahas was officially named the Courage’s head coach on Decmeber 1, 2021. He had finished the 2021 season as interim coach after the firing of Paul Riley.

According to the Courage, Nathan Thackery, goalkeeper and assistant coach, will serve as acting head coach. The team has not made any inquiries about a new head coach, stating the focus is on Friday’s tilt with the Houston Dash.

“Right now, my only thought is on tomorrow’s game,” Dr. Bowley stated. “Then, we’ll give some proper thought into what the next steps look like. Nathan will lead the team of staff and players. They will do everything they can to deliver the right performance tomorrow night.”

This article first appeared on The Equalizer and was syndicated with permission.

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