ORLANDO, Fla. — On August 31, 2026, the Orlando Pride parted ways with head coach Seb Hines, ending a four-year run that included the most successful stretch in franchise history — and, more recently, a slide down the NWSL table that ultimately cost him his job. Assistant coach Yolanda Thomas has taken over on an interim basis while the Pride, sitting 12th in the league with an 8-12-2 record, try to salvage what's left of the season.

For a coach who arrived at the position almost by accident, Hines leaves behind one of the more remarkable coaching stories in recent NWSL history.

From the Pitch to the Sideline

Sebastian Tony Hines, 38, was born in Wetherby, England, and spent a decade coming up through Middlesbrough's academy system before making his professional debut in 2007. A serious knee injury derailed his early career, and chronic knee trouble would go on to shadow him for the rest of his playing days. After loan spells at Derby County, Oldham Athletic and Coventry City, Hines crossed the Atlantic in 2015, joining Orlando City SC on loan for the club's inaugural MLS season. He made the move permanent that year and spent three seasons with the Lions as a center back, making 32 appearances and scoring four goals before injuries brought his playing career to a close in 2017.

Rather than leave Orlando, Hines stayed in the organization, transitioning into a coaching role with the Pride's staff in 2020, working under head coaches Marc Skinner and Tom Sermanni on individualized training and scouting.

An Unlikely Promotion

Hines' path to the top job was born out of crisis. In June 2022, then-head coach Amanda Cromwell and an assistant were placed on administrative leave amid a league investigation into workplace conduct violations, and Hines was elevated to interim head coach with little warning. His first month in charge included a lopsided 6-0 loss at Portland, but he steadied the team with a seven-game unbeaten stretch that summer. The Pride still finished the year on a six-game winless run, and his 3-7-5 interim record was hardly an obvious mandate for the permanent job. The club handed it to him anyway, removing his interim tag in November 2022 and making him the first Black head coach in NWSL history.

The Historic 2024 Season

What followed in 2024 was a turnaround few saw coming for a franchise that had finished last in the league and conceded a record number of goals as recently as 2019. Hines led Orlando to an 18-2-6 record — the best in the league — while the team went unbeaten through its first 23 matches of the season, a run that at one point tied the longest unbeaten streak in NWSL history. The Pride finished the year with a then-record 60 points, tied for the league's best goals-against mark, and finished third in the NWSL in goals scored.

That regular-season dominance translated into hardware. Orlando won the 2024 NWSL Shield — the franchise's first trophy — and went on to capture the NWSL Championship as well, winning the club's first-ever playoff matches in the process. Hines was named the league's 2024 Coach of the Year and became the first Black head coach to win a trophy in NWSL history.

The Numbers

Over his full four-plus years in charge — interim and permanent combined — Hines compiled a regular-season record of roughly 50-40-21, becoming just the sixth coach in league history to reach 50 wins when Orlando beat the Washington Spirit 1-0 in August 2026. In his time as full-time head coach alone, following his November 2022 appointment, he went 50-40-21, highlighted by a 2023 season in which the Pride posted a franchise-low 28 goals allowed, and, of course, the record-setting 2024 campaign.

But 2025 and 2026 told a different story. The Pride fell to eventual champion Gotham FC in last year's semifinals, and this season the team never found its footing, entering the coaching change on a stretch of four losses in five games and sitting five points outside a playoff spot.

What Readers May Not Know

He's technically American, too. Hines holds dual citizenship through his father, an American citizen — which meant he never occupied an international roster slot during his youth international career with England's U16, U17 and U19 teams.
His playing career was defined by injury as much as ability. A serious knee injury in October 2005 nearly derailed him before he ever made his senior debut, and chronic knee issues — aggravated by years playing on artificial turf in MLS — shaped the final stretch of his playing days.
He scored on his professional debut. Playing for Middlesbrough against Hull City in the 2007 FA Cup third round, Hines scored from outside the box in his first-ever appearance for the club.
He never got the job under normal circumstances. Both his interim promotion in 2022 and his ability to build a roster from scratch were shaped by a workplace-conduct scandal that forced out his predecessor — a chaotic beginning for what became a trophy-winning tenure.
The 2024 team's unbeaten streak had two acts. The 17-game unbeaten run that tied an NWSL record technically spanned two seasons, starting with the final match of 2023 and carrying into the historic start of 2024.

What's Next

With Thomas now in interim charge, the Pride will look to salvage the remainder of the 2026 season while the front office begins a search for its next permanent head coach — one who will be measured, fairly or not, against the standard Hines set in 2024.