With Bob Bradley OUT at Toronto FC, could Terry Dunfield help right the ship?

Following a loss to New England Revolution where Toronto FC once again let a 1-0 lead slip in an eventual 2-1 defeat, It was announced early Monday morning that Toronto FC won't be continuing their season with Bob Bradley at the helm, dismissing the head coach and team manager.

In his second season in charge of the Reds, Toronto failed to show the signs of improvement that they'd hoped to see by this point in the 2023 campaign. Last season, the team finished 13th in the Eastern Conference in what was a very disappointing campaign considering the (costly) talent they brought over from Italy.

Despite Bradley’s experience and understanding of MLS competition, TFC are on pace for another finish near the bottom of the east once again, sitting 14th out of 15 teams at the time of Bradley's dismissal.

What went wrong at Toronto FC?

Sometimes great coaches don’t succeed at every club they spend time at. Bob Bradley may have won the MLS Coach of the Year award on three separate occasions before taking the Toronto FC job, and were hoping he'd be able to replicate his earlier successes in Canada.

Unfortunately, Bradley couldn't get the most out of a Toronto squad that look a shell of themselves compared to their glory days of 2017.

But, could Bradley have gotten more from his team? The additions of Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne acted as adrenaline shots for the Reds last year, tallying 14 goals and 4 assists combined in just over 10 appearances; the same could not be said about the Italian duo so far this season, as the two have contributed to only 10 goals through 19 games.

Needless to say, you can’t be carried to season-long success by one or two players alone – just look at Thiago Almada with Atlanta United for another example close by – but a head coach at the very least should be pushing to consistently get the best out of his top players first and foremost.

That is not what has been displayed this season with Insigne and Bernardeschi, with reports of backroom turmoil rife at the club in recent weeks. That in-fighting, public calls of a lack of confidence and need for change, and mounting fan pressure to move on, ultimately came to a head this week with Bradley shown the door.

Terry Dunfield at the wheel

Stepping up as interim head coach for Toronto will be former club midfielder and 2012 club MVP Terry Dunfield. The 41-year-old served as a midfielder in MLS for 3 years before retiring from playing in 2017. Since then, he’s served as a coach in TFC's youth program, while also appearing right here on OneSoccer as an analyst and colour commentator.

Dunfield has done exceptionally well with the Toronto FC U-17s this year, leading the team to a 8-1-2 record in the East (North) division, as well as going 11-1-1 and at top of the MLS NEXT Flex Northeast table. Even if it may seem unlikely that Dunfield remains as head coach of the first team, with the club already linked to the likes of Andrea Pirlo, perhaps he can invoke in this team a dose of much-needed energy and vigour, knowing what it’s like to put on the TFC kit.

As a former Canadian international, Dunfield also served in John Herdman's coaching staff for the Canadian men's national team of late, and will be eager to show his troops the same level of meticulous planning and deep belief in each other, despite their current state in the table. After a winless June for the Reds, the club is hoping to get back on track with the help of Dunfield, as they take on Real Salt Lake on July 1st.