Coming off a third-place finish in the NWSL table and a semifinal appearance in the playoffs, the Portland Thorns came into the offseason with much anticipation.
President of Soccer Operations and GM Jeff Agoos made the difficult decision to fire former head coach Rob Gale, and bring in his own hire.
Sarah Lowdon was named interim head coach, a role she has held on two other occassions.
Throughout the offseason, updates were slow to come by. The front office finally arrived at a shortlist in January. And with two weeks before the season is set to kick off, finally made the hire of former Tottenham Hotspur manager, Robert Vilahamn, according to ESPN's Jeff Kassouf.
That hire is one that is a head-scratcher and raises even more questions ahead of the 2026 season opener.
Here are five reasons why the new head coaching appointment of Robert Vilahamn completely missed the mark:
Timing
Sarah Lowdon has been leading the club since late November - including all of the offseason and nearly all of preseason.
The coaching staff have worked with the players to play their football, follow their philosophy, and system.
Now? They'll have to learn a completely new system.
With the season so close by, why didn't Jeff Agoos and the front office just wait for the summer window when the best club coaches would be added to the pool of candidates?
Ambition
In Vilahamn's last head coaching role, he was fired after leading Tottenham Hotspur to an 11th place finish in the table - one spot away from relegation.
How on earth do you go from near relegation to head coach of one of the most-recognized clubs in women's football?
The lack of ambition is baffling for a team whose owners want to be 'the best club in world.'
From player acquisitions and now the hiring of a new head coach... The actions don't match the words.
The Epicenter of Women's Sports
Lisa Bhathal Merage, Alex Bhathal, and RAJ Sports own the Portland Fire and Portland Thorns.
One of the key messaging points was that the Rose City was the Epicenter of Women's Sports.
At head coach, they've hired Alex Sarama and Robert Vilahamn.
At general manger, they've hired Vanja Černivec and Jeff Agoos.
Only one woman was hired in a front office or higher role in both clubs. For two clubs and an ownership group who claims to be the Epicenter of Women's Sports, that's an interesting way of showing it.
Sarah Lowdon
The interim head coach is going to have many clubs calling her in the near future with offers to be their head coach.
The Portland Thorns front office under Karina LeBlanc made numerous gaffes and errors, but one of the worst ones was choosing Rob Gale over Sarah Lowdon to take over for Mike Norris.
Lowdon has been side league-wide as the one with more upside and a coach that has the ability to bring players together. Former players from Houston Dash continue to rave and support her, indicative of the lasting impression she made there.
Although three internal hires in a row was truly never on the table, it's a shame the club didn't move to the more opportune summer window to see what they truly had in Lowdon.
A fair question to ask now is Robert Vilahamn even an upgrade over the current interim head coach?
Not all experience is created equal
One of the key items that Jeff Agoos was looking for was head coaching experience.
Robert Vilahamn has done exactly that at Tottenham Hotspur and BK Häcken.
However, the highest finish in the WSL with Tottenham was sixth before being sacked the following season leaving the club in 11th place and near relegation.
At BK Häcken, he led them to the UEFA Women's Champions League and managed second place finishes in the Damallsvenskan.
Why was this experience valued more than that of a candidate in the NWSL? Hiring in the winter window always meant the pool would mostly consist of international head coaches or retreads of club coaches.
Agoos choosing the latter because he was looking for club experience is difficult to digest because not all coaching experience is created equal. While Vilahamn's experience was there, it doesn't meet the merits needed to run the show at a big club like Portland Thorns who expect trophies every single season.
Final Grade: F
This head coaching hire falls short in all aspects and standards imaginable.
Jeff Agoos will now have his name attached to Robert Vilahamn. The future of the club is now in their hands with their fates also connected now.
Could the head coaching hire be right? Yes, but there's already a lot working against...
Want to hear more of my thoughts on the hire? You can, right HERE.
