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Phil Neville’s time with the Portland Timbers is over, with the club confirming that they have mutually parted ways with their head coach during the World Cup break.
The decision comes after a difficult start to the 2026 MLS season. Portland have taken just 14 points from their opening 14 matches, with a 4-8-2 record leaving them 13th in the Western Conference. For a club that had expected to build on two straight playoff appearances under Neville, the direction of travel was no longer convincing enough.
Portland’s final match before the break sharpened the sense that change was coming. The Timbers were beaten 3-1 at home by the San Jose Earthquakes at Providence Park, with Antony scoring their only goal. It was not just the result that hurt, but the timing. MLS is now paused for the World Cup window, giving Portland a rare mid-season opportunity to reassess before returning to action against Cascadia rivals Seattle Sounders on July 16.
Why Portland Have Made The Change
The official wording was diplomatic, but the reasoning was clear. General manager Ned Grabavoy said the club had held “pointed discussions” during the offseason about where improvement was needed, but that progress had not followed. Most importantly, he said the results had fallen “well short of expectations”.
That is the central point. Neville did not leave after one isolated bad night. He left because Portland’s 2026 form suggested the team was slipping rather than moving forward.
The Portland Timbers have mutually parted ways with Head Coach Phil Neville, the club announced today. The search for a new head coach is underway.
Read more: https://t.co/SpyinVM1pe pic.twitter.com/JucEweGpwL
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) May 25, 2026
There had been positives in his tenure. Neville arrived before the 2024 campaign and led Portland back to the playoffs in his first season, finishing 12-11-11 in the regular season. That year also brought a club-record 65 regular-season goals, evidence that the Timbers could be dangerous and entertaining under him.
In 2025, Portland again reached the postseason, this time with an 11-12-11 record. They beat Real Salt Lake in the Wild Card round before going out to top-seeded San Diego FC in Round One. That gave Neville two playoff qualifications from two full seasons, but the ceiling never truly rose beyond that.
By 2026, the issue was no longer simply whether Portland could scrape into the postseason. It was whether the team had developed enough to look like a serious Western Conference side. Sitting near the bottom of the standings after 14 games made the answer difficult to defend.
What It Means For Neville And Portland
Neville leaves with a 27-31-24 regular-season record in Portland. It is not a disastrous body of work, but it is also not enough for a club with Portland’s support, history and expectations.
His own statement reflected that reality. Neville thanked the club, players, staff and Timbers Army, while accepting that football is a results business and that the results had not met expectations.
For Portland, the timing matters. There are still 20 regular-season games left, so this is not a write-off. The club has already begun its search for a new head coach, with interim coaching arrangements to be decided depending on how quickly that search develops.
The next appointment will inherit a squad that has shown attacking potential in recent years but has lacked consistency. The immediate task will be stabilising the season. The bigger challenge will be restoring belief that Portland can be more than a lower playoff seed.
Neville’s exit, then, is not just about a poor start. It is about a club deciding that two seasons of modest progress had turned into regression. The World Cup break gave Portland the space to act, and they have taken it.