Loudoun United found themselves coming from behind and eventually winning their first game in more than two months a mere 10 days ago in a thrilling 3-2 win over Indy, and at the time I’d noted their next two games would be tough and sure enough, they were, but not for the reasons I thought!

They did good work against a firmly bunkered Sacramento side in the Jagermeister Cup quarterfinals but were eliminated in penalty kicks. Then they had to turn around and play at Charleston on the weekend, a place where, in their last four games they’ve been outscored 10-2, and they have not beaten the Battery in their last 11 games played overall. That streak was extended Sunday, with the Battery winning 4-1 in a affair rescheduled from Saturday due to inclement weather. Loudoun gets a chance to regroup and try to tread water in their last nine games in the hopes of clinching their first playoff spot in franchise history when they host Miami Saturday.

However, this was overshadowed by Tuesday’s report that Loudoun coach Ryan Martin would be dismissed at the end of the season, the close of a tumultuous season that started with the most public reports of Loudoun’s crumbling infrastructure at Segra Field, the departure of Sporting Director Oliver Gage one year after his arrival, and youth program Virginia Revolution assuming a primary ownership stake in the club.

Typically, those associated with a sports franchise are aware that they are hired to be ultimately fired, though the reasons for Martin’s rumored exit (and Gage’s official one) remain confounding. In the latter, Gage was aware of the area, enjoyed it (he’d previously worked at the University of Virginia) and had plans to bring more people from the area into the Loudoun fold, one that the Revolution apparently have a similar vision for, as it was talked about with us at the time of the ownership announcement. Yet he was shown the door, getting the chance to work his magic with the Fort Wayne, Indiana expansion side in the USL League One.

Martin’s exit is simply baffling given his achievements. Originally part of D.C. United as the Academy Director, he helped develop several players who now play in Europe and occasionally receive United State national team call-ups. When he left D.C. United’s organization and assumed the Loudoun role, he was still part of DC and had to balance that accordingly; back when the USL still had MLS clubs with franchises in the League, those coaches swallowed an immense load of silliness that hampered their work. Martin habitually received short and even nonexistent notice from D.C. about players to start or play week to week, often times with minutes limits. Such a limitation made MLS2 teams easy wins for independent sides.

And when Martin did get independence, nay freedom, it wasn’t a full emancipation, because DC Soccer, LLC still has an ownership stake in Loudoun. Martin still dealt with shipping container locker rooms and turf that was known around the league and not in a good way in a facility that has since been less adequate to train in (Revolution’s Raventek Park is fancier by leaps and bounds and is three miles away). Martin had to resort to creative measures in player acquisition with players from USL League One, older Academy players, and players from Tanzania, Morocco, Ethiopia or just generally far and wide across the African continent. He turned a few of those players into viable talents, even getting call-ups to their respective national teams. More than one time, I joked with team officials when a new signing was announced about where so and so came from, but Martin’s tutelage and what he saw in those players proved my jokes amateurish.

Once Martin got to a point where he could work with a decent roster build, he brought in established, smart players like Koa Santos, Aidan Rocha and Panos Armenakas (all of whom won USL trophies with other teams in subsequent years), helped shape Yanis Leerman, Wesley Leggett and Kalil ElMedkhar into viable talents in the USLC, and even helped players like Drew Skundrich, Luis Zamudio and Gaoussou Samake sign pro deals with D.C., to say nothing of Ted Ku-DiPietro, who spent several seasons at Loudoun before signing a D.C. deal. He gave second chances to cast aside MLS homegrown players like Keegan Tingey and Jacob Erlandson, and continued developing players like Riley Bidois into Olympic team call-ins for his country.

More than anything else, Martin likes the area and what he’s doing, just as Gage did; Martin and Gage made the decision to keep the bulk of 2024’s Loudoun roster for 2025, which paid off in the first half of the season. We talked about Gage earlier, and while Martin is only 42, he has been coaching in some manner or fashion for almost half his life, his father holds the NCAA men’s soccer record for wins and retired last year after almost a half-century as Head Coach; teaching people and players is in the Martin DNA. Morrissey’s report does a wonderful job of illustrating just how much Martin has done with so little to work with in Loudoun, he will be a coach in demand this offseason should he choose to. As he also became a Dad for the first time in the spring, he’ll have he best of both worlds.

While the wind may be at Martin’s sails, one is unsure about the Revolution’s at the moment. Following Gage’s dismissal, Steve Birnbaum was announced as Loudoun’s General Manager when the ownership merger was announced (ed. moments after publishing, Loudoun announced Club President Nico Eckart would serve as GM, replacing Birnbaum). Yet save his interview with us at the time of the announcement, his presence can’t be immediately located on the Loudoun website, nor has he provided any quotes on the team’s new player signings since same. He was unsure about pursuing either role with Loudoun or DC Power (the other USL team DC Soccer has an ownership stake in that Birnbaum is GM/Sporting Director of) when his contract expires at the end of the season. Eckhart and the Revolution side were aware of how deep the financial hole was with Loudoun when they bought into the side, and also know what they need to improve around Segra in order to make it viable, as Raventek was in similar condition a few years ago when D.C.’s now-defunct U-23 side, coached by Richie Burke, played there on Sundays. But choosing to make it that much harder on themselves by deciding on a new coach and (likely) general manager is a fascinating decision, not in a good way. Given what the soccer world knows about Loudoun United in 2025, who on Earth do the Revolution think would come in to not only pick players but to coach them?

Loudoun United is doing the best they’ve done standings wise, and they are about to say goodbye to their coach and de facto general manager, and a lot of veteran presence will probably go with him; McCabe, Valot, Hugo Fauroux, Leerman and Skundrich are among about a dozen names who have contracts that expire or have option years. In their sixth season of existence where they could perhaps take it up a level, they will be resetting to square one.