Richie Williams Appointed Revolution II Head Coach

Williams joins the Revolution II staff following a controversial stint as interim manager with the first team.

Photo Courtesy of New England Revolution

As Revolution II prepares for its 2024 MLS NEXT Pro campaign, the club announced that former Revolution assistant coach Richie Williams will serve as the developmental club’s second-ever head coach.

The head coaching position opened on January 8th when inaugural head coach Clint Peay departed Revs II to take an assistant coaching role with the first team under Caleb Porter.

WPRO’s Tom Quinlan first hinted at the move on January 4th, as he reported the club had offered Williams the open Revolution II job.

Williams' appointment to the Revolution II job comes following a chaotic end to the 2023 MLS season that started with Bruce Arena being placed on administrative leave following “inappropriate and insensitive remarks”. With Arena away from the club, then-assistant Richie Williams stepped up to serve as the Revolution’s interim manager and debuted on August 3rd’s League Cup clash with Atlas.

Williams' stint as interim manager was brief and unsuccessful, ending his tenure with a 1-1-4 record before the club shifted control to Clint Peay on September 12th.

Marcelo Santos will return to the club with an intriguing title as he becomes associate head coach while Yuta Nomura maintains his goalkeeping coach role. Both Revolution II originals return for their fifth year with the franchise.

Revolution Sporting Director Curt Onalfo said he’s “excited to have this staff of skilled and experienced coaches in place as we get set to begin the Revolution II preseason.”

Rounding out Revolution II’s staff for 2024, Pablo Di Benedetto returns to his Sports Performance Coach role, while Brandon Miskin was promoted to Director of Soccer Operations for Revolution II.

In addition to the coaching staff, we learned more about Revolution II's preseason plans. After spending time in Foxboro, the club will travel to Bradenton, Florida, for training camp through mid-February. The 2024 schedule will be released "in the near future".