The tides of change are rolling in at Dignity Health Sports Park. Restructuring in the front office precedes upcoming roster moves.
Will LA Galaxy management be able to right the wrongs of the 2025 season?
It doesn’t take an insider to know that the LA Galaxy need wholesale changes for the 2026 season.
‘25 was uniquely bad, but it’s been clear that the team has needed something different before, during, and obviously after their title-winning campaign. The Galaxy was lucky to count on the attacking prowess of the Killer P’s to cancel out their defensive deficiencies in 2024. A misfiring attacking unit has only highlighted the longstanding need to improve defensively.
Fans will argue that change off of the pitch is just as necessary. Supporter groups boycotted for the second time in just three seasons as they felt unsupported by the club’s silence during Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE ) raids earlier this year.
General Manager Will Kuntz has also come under fire for the first time in his Galaxy career. Fans have criticised him and the scouting department for failing to appropriately bolster the defense, reinforce the midfield, or significantly improve the attack in preparation for a 2025 campaign without Riqui Puig, Dejan Joveljic, Gaston Brugman, Mark Delgado, and Martín Cáceres.
Fortunately, it does seem like the team is already starting to move in a different direction at various levels.
Some of these decisions were made for the Galaxy, as in the cases of Will Misselbrook and Kevin Acevedo.
From 2023 up until September, Will Misselbrook served as the Chief Creative and Brand Officer, overseeing a 40+ person team responsible for all of the team’s content and media.
He recently announced his decision to leave the team on Twitter, saying, “Yea, I chose to step away to a new venture that supports innovation with how a team engages and entertains fans & community.” He went on to thank the club for the opportunity, but his goodbye message implies that the Galaxy might not be as willing to change the status quo, at least when it comes to branding.
Kevin Acevedo spent four and a half years as the Director of PR and Communications, stepping back from the role to pursue a to-be-announced personal project.
The LA Galaxy have also made some moves of their own, telling Josh Guesman of Corner of the Galaxy, “as part of our ongoing efforts to position the organization for future success, we made adjustments to our front office structure. These changes included the elimination of a small number of positions, as well as promotions that strengthen our leadership team. We are grateful to all employees for their contributions and remain focused on achieving our long-term goals.”
While these front office moves are important for creating a successful club environment, fans might be more concerned with moves that will affect next year’s roster.
It’s too early to know for certain which players will and won’t play a part for the Galaxy next year, but we do know which contracts will expire at the end of this season.
Ventura County FC goalkeeper Brady Scott, Diego Fagundez, Eriq Zavaleta, Isaiah Parente, John Nelson, and Miguel Berry are all out of contract this year, but the Galaxy have a club option to re-sign all of them. Christian Ramirez’s contract also expires, but with no option it is difficult to see his Galaxy career extend beyond 2025.
Truthfully, it may be difficult for the Galaxy to retain any of these players next year. As Guesman mentioned, a renewed contract typically comes with a raise. Even for consistent performers like John Nelson and Diego Fagundez, the team may have to negotiate salary cuts, as they did for Maya Yoshida at the start of this year, or shop around for new players on a more salary-cap friendly deal.
Will Kuntz and co. will also have to consider cutting some of their existing contracts.
Zanka was signed on a two-year deal to add depth and another veteran presence to the backline. Instead, he became infamous for making mistakes that directly led to goals throughout the season while earning more than captain Maya Yoshida.
The LA Galaxy’s season ends on October 18th after their game against Minnesota United. After that, it’ll be all-system-go on preparing to avoid a repeat in 2026.
Riqui Puig’s return will certainly help, but fans will be expecting major changes across the organization to finally solve the team’s core issues.
PHOTO: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images, Bailey Holiver-Imagn Images
The post Change Is In The Air appeared first on Los Angeles Sports Nation.