# List of MLS Cup winning head coaches

The list of MLS Cup winning head coaches includes seven head coaches who have won multiple MLS Cup titles — Bruce Arena, who has won MLS Cup five times, and Sigi Schmid, Frank Yallop, Dominic Kinnear, Brian Schmetzer, Caleb Porter and Greg Vanney, who have each won MLS Cup twice.
To date, four head coaches have led two different clubs to win the MLS Cup: Sigi Schmid (with Los Angeles Galaxy in 2002 and Columbus Crew in 2008), Bruce Arena (with D.C. United in 1996 and 1997 and LA Galaxy in 2011, 2012 and 2014), Caleb Porter (with Portland Timbers in 2015 and Columbus Crew in 2020) and Greg Vanney (with Toronto FC in 2017 and LA Galaxy in 2024).
Only two head coaches have won the playoffs as both a player and head coach. Piotr Nowak played for Chicago Fire during their 1998 MLS Cup title (in which he was named the Man of the Match), and subsequently led D.C. United as a coach to their fourth MLS Cup title in 2004. Peter Vermes won the 2000 MLS Cup with Sporting Kansas City (then known as the Kansas City Wizards) as a player, then won MLS Cup with the same team as a coach in 2013. The next closest head coaches to such an achievement are Dominic Kinnear and Greg Vanney. Kinnear was on the Colorado Rapids squad that lost the 1997 MLS Cup final; however, he led the Houston Dynamo to two straight MLS Cup titles in 2006 and 2007. Vanney was on the LA Galaxy roster that finished as runners-up in 1996 and 2001, and coached Toronto FC and the LA Galaxy to victory in 2017 and 2024, respectively.
Wilfried Nancy led the Columbus Crew to an MLS Cup victory in 2023 and became the first Black manager of a cup-winning team.

## Winning head coaches

| Final | Winning head coach | Nationality | Club |
| 1996 | Bruce Arena | United States | D.C. United |
| 1997 | Bruce Arena (2) | United States | D.C. United |
| 1998 | Bob Bradley | United States | Chicago Fire |
| 1999 | Thomas Rongen | Netherlands | D.C. United |
| 2000 | Bob Gansler | United States | Kansas City Wizards |
| 2001 | Frank Yallop | Canada | San Jose Earthquakes |
| 2002 | Sigi Schmid | Germany | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2003 | Frank Yallop (2) | Canada | San Jose Earthquakes |
| 2004 | Piotr Nowak | Poland | D.C. United |
| 2005 | Steve Sampson | United States | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2006 | Dominic Kinnear | United States | Houston Dynamo |
| 2007 | Dominic Kinnear (2) | United States | Houston Dynamo |
| 2008 | Sigi Schmid (2) | Germany | Columbus Crew |
| 2009 | Jason Kreis | United States | Real Salt Lake |
| 2010 | Gary Smith | England | Colorado Rapids |
| 2011 | Bruce Arena (3) | United States | LA Galaxy |
| 2012 | Bruce Arena (4) | United States | LA Galaxy |
| 2013 | Peter Vermes | United States | Sporting Kansas City |
| 2014 | Bruce Arena (5) | United States | LA Galaxy |
| 2015 | Caleb Porter | United States | Portland Timbers |
| 2016 | Brian Schmetzer | United States | Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2017 | Greg Vanney | United States | Toronto FC |
| 2018 | Gerardo Martino | Argentina | Atlanta United FC |
| 2019 | Brian Schmetzer (2) | United States | Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2020 | Caleb Porter (2) | United States | Columbus Crew SC |
| 2021 | Ronny Deila | Norway | New York City FC |
| 2022 | Steve Cherundolo | United States | Los Angeles FC |
| 2023 | Wilfried Nancy | France | Columbus Crew |
| 2024 | Greg Vanney (2) | United States | LA Galaxy |

## Coaches with multiple MLS Cup victories

| Wins | Head coach | Team(s) won with (years) | MLS coaching career |
| 5 | Bruce Arena | D.C. United (1996, 1997) LA Galaxy (2011, 2012, 2014) | 1996–1998 2006–2016 2019–2023 |
| 2 | Sigi Schmid | Los Angeles Galaxy (2002) Columbus Crew (2008) | 1999–2004 2006–2018 |
| 2 | Frank Yallop | San Jose Earthquakes (2001, 2003) | 2001–2003 2006–2015 |
| 2 | Dominic Kinnear | Houston Dynamo (2006, 2007) | 2004–2018 |
| 2 | Brian Schmetzer | Seattle Sounders FC (2016, 2019) | 2016–present |
| 2 | Caleb Porter | Portland Timbers (2015) Columbus Crew SC (2020) | 2013–2017 2019–2022 |
| 2 | Greg Vanney | Toronto FC (2017) LA Galaxy (2024) | 2014–present |

## By nationality

| Nation | Head coaches | Total |
| United States | 11 | 19 |
| Canada | 1 | 2 |
| Germany | 1 | 2 |
| Argentina | 1 | 1 |
| France | 1 | 1 |
| England | 1 | 1 |
| Norway | 1 | 1 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1 |
| Poland | 1 | 1 |