Vancouver Whitecaps FC have parted ways with head coach Marc Dos Santos, the club announced Friday. Assistant coach Phillip Dos Santos has also left the club.
Whitecaps FC director of methodology Vanni Sartini will lead the team as acting head coach. Assistant coach Ricardo Clark and goalkeeper coach Youssef Dahha will remain with the first-team staff.
“We are very grateful to Marc and Phil for the hard work and sacrifice that they put in to lead our team over the past two and a half years,” Whitecaps FC sporting director and CEO Axel Schuster said in a club statement. “We are extremely committed to continue moving this club and team in the right direction, and at this time we felt that it was necessary to make a change to achieve our next steps.”
The Whitecaps are unbeaten in their last eight MLS matches, though five of those games were draws. Vancouver were eliminated from the Canadian Championship on Thursday by Canadian Premier League side Pacific FC 4-3.
Dos Santos was originally appointed head coach ahead of the 2019 season and compiled a 22W-37L-18D record during his time in Vancouver. Displaced during the 2020 season and most of 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic travel limitations, the Whitecaps recently played their first true home game with fans in almost two seasons. Much of their season was spent playing home games at Real Salt Lake's Rio Tinto Stadium.
Prior to joining the Whitecaps, Dos Santos was an assistant with LAFC in 2018. He also spent time as an assistant with Sporting Kansas City, as well as being the head coach of Ottawa Fury, Swope Park Rangers (now SKC II) and San Francisco Deltas.
"I am very grateful for my time with the Whitecaps and appreciate the support I received during a challenging two-plus seasons," added Marc Dos Santos. "There are a lot of great people at this club, who work extremely hard, and I'm thankful for the time we shared together. I am also especially thankful to the players, technical and support staff and wish everyone all the best. I am very excited about the future."
Vancouver are 10th in the Western Conference standings, three points below the playoff line with 14 matches left. They host RSL at BC Place on Sunday (10 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+).
This is the fourth MLS coaching change of the year, with Freddy Juarez departing RSL earlier on Friday. Gabriel Heinze (Atlanta United) and Chris Armas (Toronto FC) were both relieved of their duties over the summer as well.
