Dominic Kinnear (born July 26, 1967) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

coach and former player. On January 18, 2022, he was named an assistant coach by FC Cincinnati, his first coaching role since serving as the interim head coach of the

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

. As a player, he began his professional career with Scottish club St Johnstone, and went on to play for several teams in the United States and Mexico, including the San Jose Hawks, San Jose Clash,

Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. They were a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. They played their home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium. The ...

and Necaxa. He also earned 54

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Jav ...

with the United States national team. Kinnear has been involved in coaching MLS teams since 2001. His most notable stint was from 2006 to 2014 with the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establish ...

, a club he led to the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferenc ...

in 2006 and again in 2007.

Youth career

Kinnear moved to the United States with his family when he was three years old. He grew up in

Fremont, California Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth most populous city in the Bay Area, behind San Jose, San Fra ...

, which he considers to be his hometown. He began playing youth soccer at the age of five before attending John F. Kennedy High School where he played on the boys' varsity soccer team. After graduating from high school, he attended

Hartwick College Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the Seminary moved to expand into ...

for a single year. As a defender, he scored three goals as Hartwick went to the Final Four.

Club career

Kinnear moved back to Scotland to try his luck with

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sou ...

club St Johnstone.

United States (1989–94)

In 1989, Kinnear signed with the

San Francisco Bay Blackhawks San Francisco Bay Blackhawks were a professional soccer team which came into existence in 1989 as a team in the Western Soccer League (WSL). The Blackhawks spent time in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and the United States Interr ...

of the

Western Soccer League Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

(WSL). Kinnear remained with San Francisco Bay as the Blackhawks became one of the dominant teams of the era. In 1990, the WSL merged with the American Soccer League (ASL) to form the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

(APSL). That season Kinnear again earned All Star honors. In 1991, the Blackhawks took the APSL title and in 1992 went to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Kinnear again earned All Star honors in 1992. In 1993, the Blackhawks owner pulled the team from the APSL and moved it to the lower division

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

, renaming the team the San Jose Hawks in the process. Despite the move to the lower division and a winning season, the Hawks folded at the end of the season. Kinnear then moved to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers for the 1994 APSL season after a summer trial with English club

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

came to nothing.

Necaxa (1995)

In 1995, Kinnear played a single season with Primera División (First Division) team Necaxa. He scored one goal in five appearances as Necaxa took the Mexican League title.

Return to the United States (1995–2000)

At the end of the Mexican season, Kinnear moved to the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

of the

A League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competi ...

just in time to win another league championship. He signed with the Sounders on August 10, 1995 as a replacement for injured Dick McCormick. In the championship final, he scored the winning penalty kick. On January 24, 1996,

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

(MLS) allocated Kinnear to the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

, making him one of the first players in the league. Kinnear spent the 1996 season with the Rapids. On December 15, 1996, the Rapids traded Kinnear and a second round draft pick to the San Jose Clash for Paul Bravo and Rafael Amaya. He later moved to the

. He scored six goals and 24 assists in his career in MLS. In February 2001, Kinnear retired and joined the San Jose Earthquakes coaching staff that was led by his former Mutiny teammate Frank Yallop. Kinnear had initially thought he was being recruited to play before Yallop mentioned coaching.

International career

Kinnear earned 54

for the U.S. national team, including many of his country's warm-up games for the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

, although he was not selected for the final squad.

Coaching career

In 2001, the head coach of the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

, Frank Yallop, named Dominic Kinnear as his assistant coach. Together, they helped coach the Earthquakes to the

in 2001 and 2003. In 2004, Frank Yallop left and Kinnear was promoted to head coach of the Earthquakes. He led the Quakes to the

MLS Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 19 ...

in 2005. Kinnear moved to Houston with the rest of the Earthquakes, when the team was renamed the

. On November 12, 2006, Kinnear led the Dynamo to their first

Championship. On November 18, 2007, the Dynamo won their second

in a row, again beating the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed ...

. Kinnear resigned as head coach of Houston Dynamo effectively as of October 25, 2014, after their last match of the regular season. Kinnear became the new head coach of San Jose Earthquakes following the conclusion of the 2014 regular season He replaced

Mark Watson Mark Andrew Watson (born 13 February 1980) is a British comedian and novelist. Early life Watson was born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a brother, Paul. He attended Bristol Grammar School, ...

, who was fired on October 15, 2014. On June 25, 2017, Kinnear was fired as head coach of the Earthquakes and was replaced by Chris Leitch.

Career statistics

International goals

Coaching record

*1.Record includes league, cup, playoffs and CONCACAF competitions.

Honors

Player

San Francisco Bay Blackhawks * APSL (1): 1991 Necaxa *

Primera División de México The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

(1): 1994–95 Seattle Sounders (USL) * A-League (1995–2004) (1): 1995 A-League

Coach

San Jose Earthquakes *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered ...

Houston Dynamo *

(2):

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhut ...

* Western Conference (2): 2006, 2007 * Eastern Conference (2): 2011, 2012

Assistant Coach