Earnie Stewart named first-ever USMNT GM

It’s officially official. After months of searching and rumors, U.S. Soccer announced today that Earnie Stewart will assume the new General Manager role for the U.S. men’s national team.

The position, which we know very little about, was implemented to try and bridge the gap between the men’s and women’s national teams and the executives that run U.S. Soccer. Stuart Holden attempted to shed some light on what the role would entail, but the details are still vague. Here are some of the known responsibilities of the role that was relayed to us by Holden during the USMNT’s friendly against Bolivia on FS1:

• Drive the culture of the team’s day-to-day environment
• Hiring and firing of the head coach
• Monitoring of player pool and integration of new players
• Increase and formalize oversight and accountability

Stewart, 49, appeared 101 times for the U.S. at the senior level, appearing in three different World Cups. Since transitioning to the executive side of the game, he’s taken control of three different clubs.

In 2006, he was named Technical Director of Eredivisie club NAC Breda. After spending four years with the club, he was hired by AZ Alkmaar as Director of Football Affairs. Then, in 2015, he took the Sporting Director position at the Philadelphia Union.

Stewart has stated that one of his career goals is to “go back to the United States and to be of importance to soccer.” This will be the ultimate test for him as he is tasked with getting the USMNT back on track after they missed the World Cup for the first time in over 30 years.