Wake Forest & South Florida By the time Hackworth retired from playing in 1997, he had already spent several years coaching. In 1993,
Wake Forest University hired Hackworth as an assistant coach with the women's soccer team. In 1994, he became an assistant with the men's team. In 1998, the
University of South Florida hired Hackworth as head coach. During his four-year tenure, he took the team to two NCCA tournament appearances and compiled a 47–32–2 record. In 2002, Hackworth became an assistant to
United States U-17 men's national soccer team coach
John Ellinger.
United States U-17 National Team In 2004, when Ellinger left to become head coach at
Real Salt Lake, USMNT head coach
Bruce Arena appointed Hackworth to become the U-17 head coach. He coached the team at the
FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2005 and 2007. In the
2005 U-17 World Cup in Peru, Hackworth and the United States topped their group but lost to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. In 2007, they finished second in their group but fell to the eventual third-place finisher, Germany, in the Round of 16. Following the 2007 U-17 World Cup, Hackworth joined
Bob Bradley’s coaching staff as an assistant with the senior
United States Men's National Team. During his time with the National Team, he also served as the technical director of the U.S. Development Academy.
Assistant with USMNT As an assistant coach, Hackworth and the United States Men's National Team finished second in the
2009 Confederations Cup, including a 2–0 victory over Spain in the semifinal, breaking the Spaniards' 35-game unbeaten streak and 15-game winning streak. Hackworth was also with the National Team as it qualified for the
2010 World Cup in South Africa in October 2009.
Philadelphia Union On November 9, 2009, Hackworth joined former U.S. Soccer colleague
Piotr Nowak with the
MLS expansion side
Philadelphia Union as a coach and youth development coordinator. With that, Hackworth forwent going to the 2010 World Cup with the USMNT. On June 13, 2012, Hackworth was announced as the Philadelphia Union's new interim coach. The club subsequently advanced to the 2012
U.S. Open Cup semifinals. Hackworth was given the title permanently on Aug. 30. In his first full season in charge of the Union, the squad ranked as high as second in the
Eastern Conference the week of June 24 but failed to reach the playoffs by three points. On June 10, 2014, he was relieved of his duties as team manager.
Return to U.S. Soccer Following his time with the Union, Hackworth was hired to be the United States U-15 head coach. Jürgen Klinsmann appointed Hackworth as an assistant to
Andy Herzog for the U.S. Olympic Team. In December 2015, Hackworth was re-hired as U-17 National Team coach ahead of the
2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India and also oversaw the U.S. U-17 Residency Program. The United States advanced to the knockout round, where they defeated Paraguay by a 5–0 score. They lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual tournament champions, England. At that tournament, he coached notable United States internationals
Sergiño Dest,
Josh Sargent, and
Timothy Weah. From December 2017 through August 2018, Hackworth returned as an assistant coach with the senior national team.
Louisville City FC On August 2, 2018, Hackworth officially signed on as head coach for
Louisville City FC. As the head coach, he led the team to a USL Championship title in 2018, guided them back to the final in 2019 and in 2020 saw LouCity post the Eastern Conference's best regular-season record. On April 27, 2021, it was announced that Hackworth and Louisville City had mutually terminated his contract and replaced by
Danny Cruz. This came just three days after Louisville opened their
2021 season with a win over
Atlanta United 2.
St. Louis City SC In October 2021, Hackworth was named director of coaching for
Major League Soccer expansion club
St. Louis City SC. On January 14, 2022, it was announced that Hackworth would serve as interim head coach for the club's
MLS Next Pro side for its inaugural 2022 season. In 2023, Hackworth returned to his role as Director of Coaching for the MLS side's inaugural season, replaced as head coach of City 2 by
Bobby Murphy. On July 1, 2024, Hackworth was named the interim head coach for St. Louis City SC after the club let go of head coach
Bradley Carnell. Hackworth served in the role until the club named
Olof Mellberg permanent head coach on November 26, 2024, at which point Hackworth returned to his role as technical director for the club. Upon Mellberg's firing on May 28, 2025,
St. Louis City 2 head coach David Critchley was named interim head coach for the MLS club while Hackworth returned to City 2 as the club's interim coach.
Naval Academy On December 5, 2025, Hackworth was named the head coach for the
Navy Midshipmen men's soccer team, becoming just the seventh head coach in the 105-year history of the program. ==Honors & Awards==