It’s been a long couple of days for Chris Henderson.
After touching down in Georgia on Monday, Atlanta United’s new sporting director headed straight to the club’s training center, had his hire officially announced to the public, and has been booked up with back-to-back meetings in an effort to get up to speed on what’s shaping up to be one of the busiest offseasons of any MLS team heading into 2025.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Henderson said at a small media roundtable on Tuesday following his introduction to local media. “I’ve tried to catch up, catch up to speed with Garth [Lagerwey], was fully into work yesterday to figure out where we are in the process with the coach, where we are in the process with DP.”
Those decisions — finalizing a head coach and signing at least one Designated Player and potentially a second — lie ahead for Henderson. Joining from inter Miami, where he also held the sporting director title, the 54-year-old has reunited with Lagerwey, Atlanta United’s president and CEO, after the two won multiple MLS Cups in the Seattle Sounders’ front office. Before transitioning into a technical role, Henderson had a long player career, primarily in MLS, and featured extensively for the U.S. men’s national team.
In his conversation at Tuesday’s media roundtable, Henderson discussed his thoughts on Atlanta United and his exit from Inter Miami.
Joseph Lowery
Henderson’s thoughts on Atlanta United
With several key decisions to make this offseason, Henderson didn’t hesitate to share the top items on his to-do list in Atlanta.
“The coaching search is right up there, one or two [on the list]. Looking at the DP targets, one or two [on the list].”
Though Lagerwey has had to catch Henderson up on Atlanta United’s search to find a replacement for Gonzalo Pineda, who was fired midseason, the sporting director said he’s “had conversations with the two candidates…they’re both very good, top quality, I would say experienced managers.”
