# B. J. Callaghan

Brian Joseph Callaghan II (born July 1, 1981) is an American professional soccer coach who is currently serving as the head coach of Nashville SC.

## Playing career

Callaghan played collegiate soccer at Ursinus College, making 250 career saves, fourth in school history at the end of his final season.

## Coaching career

After graduation, Callaghan coached at his alma mater and at the club level before joining the staff at Saint Joseph's and later Villanova, where his grandfather, Jack Kraft, had served as the men's basketball head coach in the 1960s and 1970s and led the Wildcats to the 1971 national championship game. From 2005 to 2010, Callaghan served as an assistant coach with the Wildcats before being promoted to associate head coach in 2010.
While at Villanova, Callaghan met Jim Curtin, a Wildcats standout from 1997 to 2000 who was serving as a volunteer assistant. Following Curtin's eventual hiring by the Philadelphia Union as a member of the club's academy staff, Callaghan came on board in 2012 while continuing to serve at Villanova. He left Villanova to became a full-time member of the Union in 2013 following Curtin's promotion to the first team as an assistant coach, and later was one of Curtin's initial hires following the latter's appointment to interim head coach and later to permanent head coach after the firing of John Hackworth.
Callaghan remained with the Union through 2018, before joining the U.S. men's national team as an assistant coach and strategy analyst under Gregg Berhalter in January 2019. After Berhalter's contract expired at the end of 2022, Callaghan stayed with the program following Anthony Hudson's promotion from assistant coach to interim head coach.
On May 30, 2023, U.S. Soccer announced that Callaghan would succeed Hudson as interim head coach of the men's national team. In June 2023, U.S. Soccer re-appointed Berhalter as head coach and announced that Callaghan's stint as interim head coach will conclude after the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He made his debut as head coach on June 15 against rivals Mexico in the semi-finals of the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals. The United States won 3–0 and Callaghan became the first U.S. coach to win on their debut against Mexico since David Gould in 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification. The team went on to defeat Canada in the tournament final three days later.
On July 3, 2024, MLS club Nashville SC hired Callaghan as their head coach. He is the club's second head coach in franchise history after Gary Smith, who was fired on May 16 and replaced by an interim coach. Callaghan will join Nashville SC on July 22 to prepare for the 2024 Leagues Cup.

## Coaching statistics

    As of match played March 16, 2025
Coaching record by team and tenure :
| Team | From | To | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Team | From | To | G | W | D | L | Win % |
| United States (interim) | May 30, 2023 | July 12, 2023 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 057.14 |
| Nashville SC | July 22, 2024 | present | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 033.33 |
| Total | Total | Total | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 040.91 |

## Honors

United States
* CONCACAF Nations League: 2022–23

## Personal life

Raised in Ventnor City, New Jersey, Callaghan played prep soccer at Holy Spirit High School.
Callaghan graduated from Ursinus College in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and business administration.