Sporting Kansas City announced today that the club has mutually agreed to part ways with Brian Bliss, Technical Director and Vice President of Player Personnel.
Bliss joined Sporting’s technical staff in 2016 as Director of Player Personnel and in 2019 took the role he has held for the last five years. He ended his professional playing career with the Kansas City Wizards in 1998 and served as an assistant coach for the club from 2000-2006.
“Brian has been a great ambassador for Sporting Kansas City and his efforts as a leading member of our technical staff are appreciated,” said Sporting KC Co-Principal Owner Michael Illig. “We are thankful for his commitment to the organization, and we wish him well.”
Sporting will make an announcement regarding the leadership of the club’s technical staff in the coming days.
A World Cup and Olympic veteran with the United States Men’s National Team, Bliss earned 33 caps for his country from 1984-1995. The defender played with Sporting Manager Peter Vermes at the 1988 Olympics and the 1990 FIFA World Cup while also competing at the 1995 Copa America. His 12-year club career was highlighted by six seasons in Germany from 1990-1996 before spending his final three seasons in MLS with the Columbus Crew (1996), New York/New Jersey MetroStars (1997) and Kansas City Wizards (1998).
Bliss was an assistant coach with Kansas City from 2000-2006—helping the club win the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield double in 2000 and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2004—and held an interim head coaching role with the team at the end of 2006.
In 2008, Bliss began a six-year spell as Technical Director for the Columbus Crew, where he won the 2008 MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield titles in 2008 and 2009. He finished his Columbus tenure as interim head coach in late 2013. Bliss was Technical Director at Chicago Fire FC from 2014-2015, serving as the club’s interim head coach at the end of 2015 before returning to Kansas City in early 2016. The New York native was also an assistant coach for the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team from 2012-2013, including a trip to the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey.
