Soccer Tejas
HOUSTON – The Houston Dash has named Fabrice Gautrat as the club’s head coach ahead of the 2025 NWSL season, ending more than six months of uncertainty at its top coaching position.
Gautrat becomes the sixth head coach in club history and tenth overall including interims. The search was led by the Dash’s President of Women’s Soccer Angela Hucles Mangano, with support from Interim General Manager, Erik Ustruck, and Club ownership, according to its press release.
The club made the announcement on Friday morning as it begins to prepare for the start of preseason later this month. The hire was first reported on Thursday by Jeff Kassouf of The Equalizer.
This will mark Gautrat’s first attempt as an NWSL head coach. He joins the Texas club after three seasons as a full-time assistant with the Chicago Red Stars and North Carolina Courage.
Who is Fabrice Gautrat?
Born in Culver City, California, Gautrat grew up in Santa Clarita, California where he played as a defender for William S. Hart High School.
Gautrat began his collegiate career with the University of San Diego Toreros (2006-07) before transferring to The Master’s University Mustangs (2009–11).
He played professional soccer with UJA Maccabi in France (2011-13) before returning to the United States with Orange County Blues (2014) and the Atlanta Silverbacks (2015).
The 37-year-old speaks four languages: English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. He holds the United States Soccer Federation A and UEFA B coaching licenses.
Gautrat began his coaching experience at the youth level. He began his coaching career at the prep level in 2008 in France and held various roles at Flintridge Prep and FC Golden State from 2010-2014. He also served as the director of coaching and academy director for Rush Soccer from 2015-2017 in Georgia.
He joined Chicago FC United in 2018 as the head coach of the U-14 and U-19 teams. He also joined the U.S. U-17 Youth National Team camp in June 2019.
His experience includes a stint in France with Olympique Lyonnais in 2018 as an assistant coach for the U-19 women’s and U-16 boy’s squads.
The new Dash head coach began his NWSL coaching career with the Chicago Red Stars, serving as an assistant from 2020-2022, including an appearance in the 2021 NWSL Championship, quarterfinals in 2022 as well as the final of the inaugural NWSL Challenge Cup.
He then moved on to be a full-time assistant with the North Carolina Courage, who won the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup with Gautrat as part of the coaching staff.
Fabrice Gautrat is the husband of Orlando Pride and U.S. women’s national team midfielder Morgan Brian Gautrat, who started her career with the Dash from 2015 to 2017.
The Dash ended last in the NWSL standings in 2024 with a 5W-5D-16L record and will look to qualify for the NWSL Playoffs for only the second time in its 12th season.
Will he last the year?
It’s no secret that Houston has had a tumultuous history with head coaches. Since 2022, the team has been led by seven different managers, including interim roles. Gautrat is the team’s sixth full-time head coach.
The long-awaited naming of the new head coach comes after the former hire, Fran Alonso, took a leave of absence in June 2024 and never returned.
After a mysterious three-month absence from the team, the club parted ways with Alonso in October, just nine months after his appointment. Alonso signed with Liga F side Deportivo de La Coruña last November, clarifying in his introductory press conference that his leave was not due to his health and that he could not go into more detail due to a confidentiality agreement.
Sam Laity was the coach during the previous season. The longtime NWSL assistant was fired after eight months as the Dash manager.
Alex Singer, the Dash General Manager that made both of the previous coaching hires was let go in July. The club hired Angela Hucles Mangano as the new President of Women’s Soccer in December.
What they said
Fabrice Gautrat:
“I am incredibly excited and honored to be named the next head coach of the Houston Dash.
From the very beginning of the process, there was a clear alignment of vision and values in my conversations with Angela and club leadership.
Their commitment to building a strong culture as the foundation for excellence on and off the field really resonated with me.
I look forward to working with the club to build something special that the city of Houston can take great pride in.
Together, we will work to make the Dash a consistent contender in the NWSL.”
Houston Dash President of Women’s Soccer Angela Hucles Mangano:
“Throughout our search it was evident that Fabrice would be an excellent fit to lead our team as the next head coach.
He has empowered players across the league over the last five years to win trophies and achieve sustained success.
His devotion to the game and the development of our players will be critical to the transformation we envision for the Dash.
We are thrilled to welcome him to Houston and look forward to what he brings to the organization in the upcoming season and for years to come.”
