CHICAGO, IL–Nelson Rodriguez has stepped down as president of Chicago Fire FC, ending an often-tumultuous five-year spell with the club in various capacities.
“I began discussing my future with Owner and Chairman Joe Mansueto last month. At this transformational time for the organization, and after five years with the Fire, I’m ready for a change and I’m looking forward to taking on new challenges,” said Rodríguez. “I always tried to do what was best for the Club and I am grateful to Joe for his enormous support and to Andrew Hauptman for the opportunity originally given to me. The Club is moving in an exciting direction and I wish the team, the staff and fans the very best of luck.”
Rodrgiuez started with the Fire in September 2015 as the general manager after stints at Chivas USA, US Soccer, and the MLS league office. He appointed Veljko Paunovic as head coach and later brought in Bastian Schweinsteiger in April 2017 which boosted the club to their best record since 2000 and their first playoff appearance since 2012. In January 2018, then-owner Andrew Hauptman added the title of club president to Rodriguez, but things both on and off the pitch declined rapidly.
On the pitch, the club failed to build on their 2017 success (even then they limped towards the finish with Schweinsteiger missing the last eight matches before the playoffs) and went from the third-best record in Major League Soccer to the fourth-worst in 2018 with little improvement in 2019.
Off the pitch, fans protested the ban of the Sector Latino fan group for what the club said were repeated violations of the fan code of conduct and by extension any season ticket holder in Section 101 which added to an already growing disconnect between the club and its supporters.
The decision to exclusively stream all non-nationally televised matches to ESPN+ also did not help matters as it denied the club a presence in local media. That pact was renegotiated to allow simulcasts on WGN-TV. The deal with ESPN+ expired after the 2020 season.
After Joe Mansueto took full control of the club, Rodriguez was shifted to the business side of the club while Georg Heitz took control of the soccer operations as sporting director. Rodriguez would oversee the club’s move back to the City of Chicago and Soldier Field.
“For five years, Nelson has dedicated himself and given his everything to the Club,” said Mansueto. “He has helped me tremendously over the course of our first year working together and I am grateful for that. We thank him for his loyal service to the Fire and we wish him all the best moving forward.”
Club chief operations officer John Urban will take over the presidency on an interim basis until a permanent replacement can be found.
