It will surely be a bittersweet moment for new Toronto FC Assistant Coach Duncan Oughton as he prepares to face the club he spent 12 years with in his first match on Ryan Nelsen's staff. But Oughton isn't the first former Crew player to venture into coaching. After all, the Black & Gold's technical staff boasts four former Crew players.
Other former players have even earned some silverware as coaches. Todd Yeagley and Brian Maisonneuve recently won their first NCAA Championship while coaching at Indiana University, while Ezra Hendrickson has claimed three Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups while on Sigi Schmid's staff in Seattle. In his second season as Head Coach of Lanús in Argentina, Guillermo Barros Schelotto could be on his way to hardware as his club currently sits in second place of the Argentine Primera División.
Here's a full list of former Crew players in the coaching ranks:
Columbus Crew
Robert Warzycha, Head Coach
Brian Bliss, Technical Director/U.S. U-20 Assistant Coach
Mike Lapper, Assistant Coach
Ricardo Iribarren, Assistant Coach
Billy Thompson, Crew Soccer Academy Director of Coaching
Toronto FC
Duncan Oughton, Assistant Coach
Seattle Sounders FC
Ezra Hendrickson, Assistant Coach
New York Red Bulls
Robin Fraser, Assistant Coach
John Wolyniec, Reserve Team Coach/Player Development Coordinator
LA Galaxy
Pat Noonan, Assistant Coach
Real Salt Lake
Andy Williams, Head Scout
Lanús (Argentine Primera)
Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Head Coach
Kaizer Chiefs (South African Premier League)
Doctor Khumalo, Youth Development Coach
Indiana University
Todd Yeagley, Head Coach
Brian Maisonneuve, Assistant Coach
Penn State University
Bo Oshoniyi, Assistant Coach
University of New Mexico
Brandon Moss, Assistant Coach
Cornerstone University
Steven Herdsman, Assistant Coach
Photo Credits: USA Today Sports Images, Getty Images, IUHoosiers.com, Seattle Sounders FC