Brian Joseph Callaghan II (born July 1, 1981) is an American professional soccer

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

who is currently serving as the head coach of

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...

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 John Jack Kraft (February 10, 1921 – August 28, 2014) was an American basketball coach who coached Villanova for 12 years, from 1961 through 1973. He compiled a 238–95 record (.715). Kraft led Villanova to the NCAA Tournament six times, ...

, 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 Jim Curtin (born June 23, 1979) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who is the current head coach of the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. He spent most of his playing career with the Chicago Fire. Youth and col ...

, a Wildcats standout from 1997 to 2000 who was serving as a volunteer assistant. Following Curtin's eventual hiring by the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

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 John Hackworth (born February 5, 1970, in Dunedin, Florida) is an American soccer coach who is currently Director of Coaching for St. Louis City SC of Major League Soccer and the interim head coach for the club's MLS Next Pro side. Player Hac ...

. 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 Gregg Matthew Berhalter (, ; born August 1, 1973) is an American soccer coach and former player. He is also the current head coach of the United States men's national soccer team. Berhalter previously coached Columbus Crew SC in Major League Soc ...

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 The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is a ...

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 The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup will be the 17th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's football championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament will take place from Ju ...

. He made his debut as head coach on June 15 against rivals Mexico in the semi-finals of the

2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

. The United States won 3–0 and Callaghan became the first U.S. coach to win on their debut against Mexico since

David Gould David L. Gould (January 9, 1873 – January 25, 1939) was a Scottish American soccer player, coach and referee. He coached the U.S. national team at the 1934 FIFA World Cup and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. He was born in ...

1934 FIFA World Cup qualification The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the first World Cup for which teams had to qualify, after the finalists in the inaugural 1930 World Cup had participated by invitation from FIFA. With 32 teams having entered the 1934 competition, FIFA organized qual ...

. The team went on to defeat Canada in the tournament final three days later. On July 3, 2024, MLS club

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 The 2024 Leagues Cup is the upcoming fourth edition of the Leagues Cup, an international club soccer tournament contested by Major League Soccer (MLS) and Liga MX clubs in North America. It is scheduled to take place between July 26 and August ...

Coaching statistics

Honors

United States * CONCACAF Nations League:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

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.https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-callaghan-134b29b/

References

External links

Saint Joseph's coaching profile

Philadelphia Union coaching profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callaghan, Bj 1981 births Living people American men's soccer players American soccer coaches Holy Spirit High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Ventnor City, New Jersey Sportspeople from Atlantic County, New Jersey Ursinus Bears Men's association football goalkeepers College men's soccer players in the United States Villanova Wildcats men's soccer coaches Philadelphia Union non-playing staff Ursinus College alumni American women's soccer coaches Soccer players from New Jersey 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup managers United States men's national soccer team managers