by Timothy Belin
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - April 9, 2025
Birmingham Legion FC missed the USL Championship playoffs for the first time in club history in 2024 and have endured their worst start to a season to kick off 2025. This morning, it resulted in the departure of the only man to have ever led the Black and Gold, Tom Soehn.
Soehn broke the news on his personal X account with the following message:
“Found out this morning that I no longer will be coaching the Birmingham Legion. Wanted to thank all the staff I was able to work beside over the last 6 years. Your hard work, dedication and loyalty will always be cherished. It was a pleasure working with each and every one of you.”
“I also want to thank all the players, past and present, for their dedication each and everyday, through the good times and bad. To all the fans, thank you for accepting me and my family into this city that we have grown to love.”
“Soccer and the Legion have grown so much through my time here and I hope it will continue. Thanks for the memories. Tommy Soehn”
Soehn joined the Legion as the club’s inaugural coach in August 2018 following 15 years in Major League Soccer as either head or assistant coach for the Chicago Fire, D.C. United, the Vancouver Whitecaps and New England Revolution.
In his first season leading the Legion’s expansion team, he took the Three Sparks to a 10th-place finish, a good enough result to secure postseason given the USL Championship consisted of 36 teams at the time.
After a disrupted COVID-19 season in 2020, Soehn steered the Legion to their best-ever finish in 2021, clinching 3rd place in the East and a subsequent appearance in the Eastern conference semifinals. In 2022, he secured another home playoff with a 4th place finish.
Though 2023 saw a dip with a 7th-placed finish, a strong postseason took the Black and Gold to their second conference semi-final. That year also saw a memorable Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run, getting an upset against MLS side Charlotte FC before falling in the quarter-final by a single goal to Inter Miami CF in front of nearly 20,000 home fans.
While 2024 saw the team miss out on the postseason for the first time in club history, they did so by a mere three points, and boasted a higher points total than two Western Conference teams that did make the cut.
Soehn exits the Black and Gold with 207 games to his name, good for a 90-80-37 record.
Legion confirmed the news shortly after Soehn’s social media announcement.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision and one that was not taken lightly, because Tommy played a pivotal role in building the foundation of this club,” Legion FC Chief Soccer Officer and CEO Jay Heaps said. “However, results and performances have not progressed, and we felt a change was necessary at this time to move the club forward. We thank Tommy for his hard work and dedication to our organization and wish him and his family the best moving forward.”
Legion also stated that a national search is underway for a new head coach. In the interim, assistant coach Eric Avila will take charge of the club, starting with Sunday’s game against El Paso Locomotive.
A former Legion player, Avila represented the Black and Gold on 34 occasions during the 2019 season. He retired a year later and joined the legion coaching staff in 2022.