LAFC assistant Marc Dos Santos frontrunner to replace Cherundolo as manager: Sources

LAFC assistant coach Marc Dos Santos is the frontrunner to take over as the club’s next head coach in 2026, sources briefed on the situation have told The Athletic.

Head coach Steve Cherundolo announced this spring he would depart LAFC following the season to return to Germany with his family. LAFC insists nothing will be done on the coaching front until following the season with the club focused on the playoffs.

Dos Santos has been an assistant on LAFC’s staff under Cherundolo since his first season in 2022. Dos Santos was also an assistant on Bob Bradley’s inaugural LAFC staff in 2018 before leaving to take the Vancouver Whitecaps head coaching role ahead of the 2019 season.

He was head coach of the Whitecaps for two-and-a-half seasons, leaving during 2021.

Under Cherundolo, LAFC won MLS Cup and the Supporters’ Shield in 2022 then the U.S. Open Cup in 2024. They have gotten to another three finals – the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup, 2023 MLS Cup final and 2024 Leagues Cup – with the potential for a fourth still lingering.

LAFC, led by stars Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga, advanced by Austin FC in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs and remains alive to add to that list of finals in 2025. The club secured a place in the Western Conference semifinals, facing the Whitecaps following the November FIFA international window.