Evaluating Oscar Pareja and Seb Hines

As we head into the last matches for both Orlando City and the Orlando Pride, let’s take a look at how Oscar Pareja and Seb Hines are doing in their respective managerial roles with the club. Have they done enough to stay on and lead the club into the future?

Oscar Pareja, Orlando City SC

Pareja’s current contract with Orlando City is up after this season. While questions regarding his future with the club have been raised by the media, neither Pareja nor the club has commented on what the future holds. Here is a brief summary of what Pareja has done since he arrived.

2020 — There’s nothing like dealing with a global pandemic in your first year with a new club, is there? The Lions finished in fourth place in the Eastern Conference (23 matches, 11-4-8 record, 41 points). Pareja took Orlando City to the playoffs in his first year, where the club advanced past New York City FC in the first round of playoffs, though ultimately losing to the New England Revolution in the conference semifinals. The Lions also made it to the final of the MLS is Back Tournament but lost to the Portland Timbers 2-1. 

2021 — Orlando City finished in sixth place in the Eastern Conference (34 matches, 13-9-12 record, 51 points). Once again, Pareja’s team made the playoffs, but lost 3-1 to Nashville SC in the first round.

2022 — The Lions finished in seventh place in the Eastern Conference (34 matches, 14-6-14 record, 48 points). For the third season in a row, the Lions made the playoffs, but this time lost 2-0 to Montreal in the first round. Of course, that wasn’t the defining moment of 2022, given there was the whole winning-the-U.S.-Open-Cup thing. In his third year in charge, Pareja brought Orlando City the club’s first trophy of the MLS era. 

2023 — Following a mixed bag the first part of the season, Orlando City has come on strong since crashing out of the Leagues Cup competition to finish second in the Eastern Conference and second in MLS (through 33 matches, 17-7-9 record, 60 pts) with one match still to be played. How the club does in the playoffs will go a long way to determining whether this was a successful season, or a truly historic one.

As you can see, Pareja has cultivated a winning culture within the club, and the results are showing on the field and in the standings. I expect that Pareja will be given a new contract after all is said and done, it is only the terms that will be decided by how far the Lions make it in the playoffs. 

Seb Hines, Orlando Pride

While it hasn’t always been pretty, Hines has the Orlando Pride in a position to possibly make the NWSL playoffs if the club wins or draws the last match against the Houston Dash and some other results go the Pride’s way. While it hasn’t been a long tenure at the helm for Hines, there has been progress.

2022 — Hines took over as interim head coach on June 7, 2022 after former head coach Amanda Cromwell and former assistant coach Sam Greene were put on administrative leave. To say he was stepping into a difficult situation is an understatement. 

Hines immediately changed the culture of the club, and implemented his idea of what training should look like. The team responded, starting in his third match in charge by going on a seven-match unbeaten run. Unfortunately, that was followed by the typical end-of-the-season slump for the Pride, but Seb had done enough to earn the position full-time for 2023 despite a 3-9-3 record after he took over.

2023 — Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Haley Carter worked with Hines on bringing in the players he needs for the club to succeed. The addition of Brazilians Adriana and Rafaelle, as well as NWSL Draft picks Messiah Bright and Emily Madril have all been key components of the team’s success this season. 

I do say success, because the reality is that at the beginning of the season, making the playoffs was not something many thought possible, other than Hines and the players, of course. Though the Pride still have one match to make a go of making the playoffs, the success of Hines’ first season as skipper is already assured. Given the pieces he has, Hines has the Pride playing above expectations. I have no doubt his time as head coach will continue.

Those are my thoughts on the club’s two skippers. Let me know what you think in the comments below.