FC Edmonton announced Jeff Paulus will not be the head coach of FC Edmonton going into the 2021 season on Monday.
However, FC Edmonton announced that Paulus will stay at the club as Manager of Player Development which will consist of training and developing local talent into professional prospects to join the first team or look at opportunities for those players to find playing minutes internationally.
“It was important for us to find a way to keep Jeff, so he could continue to contribute his great talents to the club,” said club owners Tom and Dave Fath. “We just agreed that now is (a) good time to find a new head coach to lead the first team.”
FC Edmonton finished the Canadian Premier League Island Games bottom of the first round table, failing to win a single match.
The club says the search for Paulus’ replacement will begin immediately.
Read full club statement:
Jeff Paulus Stepping Down as Head Coach
Will Remain with Club in New Role, Search for Next Head Coach Begins
EDMONTON, AB – Jeff Paulus will no longer retain his position as head coach of FC Edmonton, but will remain with the club in a new role, owners Tom Fath and Dave Fath announced today.
Paulus will be Manager of Player Development in charge of overseeing the club’s youth academy players, with the goal of training and developing local talent into professional prospects to join the club’s first team and to explore opportunities for them to play internationally. The role also includes collection and analysis of statistical data on all players in the club’s system, and to consult with coaches and the General Manager on player signings and roster development.
“Jeff has been the heart and soul of this club for many years, and has dedicated himself to it,” owner Tom Fath said. “We recognize this, and for it we give our sincere, heartfelt thanks to him.”
Fath continued, “For his many years of good, loyal service, as well as for his proven ability to develop young players, it was important for us to find a way to keep Jeff, so he could continue to contribute his great talents to the club. We just agreed that now is good time to find a new head coach to lead the first team.”
The Scarborough, Ontario native and former Northern Alberta Institute of Technology head coach’s tenure with FC Edmonton began as an assistant coach in 2011. He was appointed head coach in 2018, and assumed the additional role of Interim General Manager in November of last year.
“I want to thank Tom and Dave Fath for providing me the opportunity to work in professional football for nine years and lead this club into the Canadian Premier League,” Paulus said. “I am looking forward to new opportunities and will continue to support this club as best I can in a role that really feeds my passion for player development.”
The search for the club’s next head coach will begin immediately.
