Dominic Kinnear (born July 26, 1967) is an American soccer coach and former player. On January 18, 2022, he was named an assistant coach by FC Cincinnati, his first coaching role since serving as the interim head coach of the LA Galaxy. As a player, he began his professional career with Scottish club St Johnstone, and went on to play for several teams in the United States and Mexico, including the San Jose Hawks, San Jose Clash,

Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. They were a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. They played their home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium. The ...

and Necaxa. He also earned 54

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

with the United States national team. Kinnear has been involved in coaching MLS teams since 2001. His most notable stint was from 2006 to 2014 with the Houston Dynamo, a club he led to the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

in 2006 and again in 2007.

Youth career

Kinnear moved to the United States with his family when he was three years old. He grew up in Fremont, California, which he considers to be his hometown. He began playing youth soccer at the age of five before attending John F. Kennedy High School where he played on the boys' varsity soccer team. After graduating from high school, he attended

Hartwick College Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the Seminary moved to expand into a ...

for a single year. As a defender, he scored three goals as Hartwick went to the Final Four.

Club career

Kinnear moved back to Scotland to try his luck with Scottish Football League club St Johnstone.

United States (1989–94)

In 1989, Kinnear signed with the

San Francisco Bay Blackhawks San Francisco Bay Blackhawks were a professional soccer team which came into existence in 1989 as a team in the Western Soccer League (WSL). The Blackhawks spent time in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and the United States Interreg ...

of the

Western Soccer League Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer All ...

(WSL). Kinnear remained with San Francisco Bay as the Blackhawks became one of the dominant teams of the era. In 1990, the WSL merged with the American Soccer League (ASL) to form the American Professional Soccer League (APSL). That season Kinnear again earned All Star honors. In 1991, the Blackhawks took the APSL title and in 1992 went to the semifinals of the

CONCACAF Champions Cup The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Americ ...

. Kinnear again earned All Star honors in 1992. In 1993, the Blackhawks owner pulled the team from the APSL and moved it to the lower division

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

, renaming the team the San Jose Hawks in the process. Despite the move to the lower division and a winning season, the Hawks folded at the end of the season. Kinnear then moved to the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

for the 1994 APSL season after a summer trial with English club Bolton Wanderers came to nothing.

Necaxa (1995)

In 1995, Kinnear played a single season with Primera División (First Division) team Necaxa. He scored one goal in five appearances as Necaxa took the Mexican League title.

Return to the United States (1995–2000)

At the end of the Mexican season, Kinnear moved to the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

of the

A League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competit ...

just in time to win another league championship. He signed with the Sounders on August 10, 1995 as a replacement for injured

Dick McCormick Dick McCormick (born September 9, 1968) is a former American soccer player and current youth soccer coach. McCormick played as a midfielder in six indoor and outdoor leagues over his fourteen-year professional career. He has served as an assista ...

. In the championship final, he scored the winning penalty kick. On January 24, 1996, Major League Soccer (MLS) allocated Kinnear to the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

, making him one of the first players in the league. Kinnear spent the 1996 season with the Rapids. On December 15, 1996, the Rapids traded Kinnear and a second round draft pick to the San Jose Clash for Paul Bravo and

Rafael Amaya José Rafael Amaya Núñez (born 28 February 1977) is a Mexican actor, born in Hermosillo, Mexico. He is best known for his character Aurelio Casillas in the Telemundo series ''El Señor de los Cielos''. Biography Amaya was born in Hermosill ...

. He later moved to the

. He scored six goals and 24 assists in his career in MLS. In February 2001, Kinnear retired and joined the San Jose Earthquakes coaching staff that was led by his former Mutiny teammate Frank Yallop. Kinnear had initially thought he was being recruited to play before Yallop mentioned coaching.

International career

Kinnear earned 54

for the U.S. national team, including many of his country's warm-up games for the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

, although he was not selected for the final squad.

Coaching career

In 2001, the head coach of the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

Frank Yallop Frank Walter Yallop (born 4 April 1964) is a British-Canadian professional soccer coach. Yallop is currently the head coach and sporting director of USL Championship side Monterey Bay FC. He played 13 years in England for Ipswich, including the ...

, named Dominic Kinnear as his assistant coach. Together, they helped coach the Earthquakes to the

in 2001 and 2003. In 2004, Frank Yallop left and Kinnear was promoted to head coach of the Earthquakes. He led the Quakes to the

MLS Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 1 ...

in 2005. Kinnear moved to Houston with the rest of the Earthquakes, when the team was renamed the Houston Dynamo. On November 12, 2006, Kinnear led the Dynamo to their first

Championship. On November 18, 2007, the Dynamo won their second

in a row, again beating the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

. Kinnear resigned as head coach of Houston Dynamo effectively as of October 25, 2014, after their last match of the regular season. Kinnear became the new head coach of San Jose Earthquakes following the conclusion of the 2014 regular season He replaced

Mark Watson Mark Andrew Watson (born 13 February 1980) is a British comedian and novelist. Early life Watson was born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a brother, Paul. He attended Bristol Grammar School, wh ...

, who was fired on October 15, 2014. On June 25, 2017, Kinnear was fired as head coach of the Earthquakes and was replaced by

Chris Leitch Chris Leitch (born April 1, 1979 in Pickerington, Ohio) is a retired American soccer player who is currently the general manager and a former head coach for the San Jose Earthquakes. Career College Leitch played college soccer at the Univer ...

Career statistics

International goals

Coaching record

*1.Record includes league, cup, playoffs and CONCACAF competitions.

Honors

Player

San Francisco Bay Blackhawks * APSL (1): 1991 Necaxa *

Primera División de México The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional Association football, football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and amo ...

(1): 1994–95 Seattle Sounders (USL) *

A-League (1995–2004) The A-League was a professional men's soccer league which featured teams from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1996 as the USISL Select League, the competition merged with the American Professional Soccer League in 1997 to become the U ...

(1): 1995 A-League

Coach

San Jose Earthquakes *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Houston Dynamo *

(2):

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

* Western Conference (2): 2006, 2007 * Eastern Conference (2): 2011, 2012

Assistant Coach

San Jose Earthquakes *

(2):

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

* Western Conference (1): 2003

References

External links

Houston Dynamo bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinnear, Dominic 1967 births Living people American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American soccer players Soccer players from California Liga MX players Colorado Rapids players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Hartwick Hawks men's soccer players Houston Dynamo FC coaches LA Galaxy coaches FC Cincinnati non-playing staff Major League Soccer coaches Major League Soccer players Footballers from Glasgow St Johnstone F.C. players San Francisco Bay Blackhawks players San Jose Earthquakes players San Jose Earthquakes coaches San Jose Hawks players Scottish footballers Scottish emigrants to the United States Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Tampa Bay Mutiny players USISL players United States men's international soccer players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1992 King Fahd Cup players 1993 Copa América players 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Western Soccer Alliance players Club Necaxa footballers American expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate footballers in Mexico LA Galaxy non-playing staff San Jose Earthquakes non-playing staff Association football defenders Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Scottish expatriate footballers Scottish expatriate football managers

Youth career

Club career

United States (1989–94)

Necaxa (1995)

Return to the United States (1995–2000)

International career

Coaching career

Career statistics

International goals

Coaching record

Honors

Player

Coach

Assistant Coach

See also

References

External links