“When I was working across town, we were certainly grateful that the Galaxy weren't as great as they maybe could have been,” Will Kuntz told Backheeled last month.
“But at the same time, I think there was an understanding that they were never too far away from being actually really great.”
One of eight teams still alive in the MLS playoffs and fresh off their best regular season in over a decade, greatness has found its way back to Carson. Kuntz, the LA Galaxy’s general manager, has helped usher in a new era, defined by “star-making”, rather than “star-taking”.
Before joining the LA Galaxy’s front office last spring and being appointed as the club’s general manager in December of 2023, Kuntz enjoyed a varied, multi-sport background. After playing college basketball, the New York native joined the New York Yankees and eventually became the team’s director of pro scouting. A pivot saw Kuntz leave baseball for soccer, joining MLS to become the league’s director of player relations, helping teams comply with league rules and create player contracts.
From the league office, Kuntz returned to the team environment, joining LAFC’s front office before setting up shop across town with the Galaxy.
Backheeled sat down with Kuntz to discuss the changes that have seen the LA Galaxy return to their perch as one of MLS’s dominant teams — and to discuss his winding career.
Answers have been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
When you joined the Galaxy’s front office last year, was there a conscious desire to return the club to the glory days?
For sure. I don’t know that we initially had the roadmap to get there when I came in, but it was, it was always something that was top of mind for everybody here.
And I think, with no disrespect to my predecessors, I think there was also a lot of pressure to do it in a very similar sort of fashion. It wasn't just return to prominence, but do it in a very Galaxy way. And what does that mean? That means having huge international superstars, whether it's a Beckham or a Keane or an Ibrahimovic, I think it was a dedicated track of doing it and doing it a certain way.
So I wouldn't say that there was a lack of ambition, but I think also the league has evolved since 10 years ago, and what that means is that the way teams are putting together consistent championship contenders is a little bit different.
Yes, you can have those stars who are at the end of their career, who have been global icons, but you no longer need to have them be DPs necessarily, right? We have different mechanisms, whether it's TAM, increases in the salary budget, and there are different ways to put a roster together.
The biggest change that we made is the how. Not what we want to do, but how we are going to do it and really trusting that it's going to be okay to do it in a different way, so long as we're winning.
Jon Arnold
Before you arrived in Carson, what was your perception of the LA Galaxy?
It was really formed by what I saw, geez, 10 years ago now when I was at the league office when I first came out to visit Bruce Arena.
