Early career Herdman began coaching football at a young age in England, while he was a student and part-time university lecturer at
Northumbria University. He was a development coach for
Sunderland's youth academy until 2001, when he moved to New Zealand.
New Zealand women's national team Herdman arrived in New Zealand and joined the national association football programme in 2003, initially acting as Coach Education Manager and later as the Director of Football Development. Herdman was head coach for the
New Zealand women's national team from 2006 to 2011. Working with the national women's teams, he led the U-20 squad to the World Championship in
2006, the federation's first-ever youth tournament result, and the later renamed U-20 World Cup in
2010, securing its first-ever youth World Cup victory. He also guided the senior squad to the
FIFA Women's World Cups in
2007 and
2011 as well as the
2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. For his contributions, he was recognized as New Zealand Football Coach of the Year (2006, 2008) and New Zealand Football Team of the Year (2008). During his time in New Zealand, Herdman played amateur football for
NRFL Division 2 club
Hibiscus Coast.
Canada women's national team Herdman took over for the
Canada women's national team in 2011 from
Carolina Morace after Canada finished last in their
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup group. The Canada women's team were in disarray. Some veteran players were contemplating early retirements until Herdman arrived. Shortly after, he led them to a gold medal finish at the
2011 Pan American Games in Mexico. He guided the team through the
CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament in Vancouver, Canada, securing one of two qualifying spots for the
2012 Olympic Games in
London that summer.
London 2012 Olympic Games The Canadian team advanced from the group stage of the
2012 Summer Olympics in
London with a loss to Japan, a win over
South Africa and a draw with
Sweden. Canada faced host nation
Great Britain in the quarter-final, defeating them 2–0. This led to a historic
Olympic semi-final against the United States at
Old Trafford that saw the Americans prevail 4–3, with Canada's
Christine Sinclair recording a hat-trick.
The Guardian referred to the game as "The greatest knockout match in major-tournament football since 1982." Canada then played the third-place game, where they won the
bronze medal, Canada’s first Summer Olympic team sport medal since 1936. The team received the
Canadian Press Team of the Year Award, another first for soccer. In 2015, Herdman gave a
TED Talk, sharing the lessons learned from the team’s 2012 Olympic performance.“If you want to reach greatness, and that’s what (the Canadian women’s national team) had to buy into, they had to achieve consistent goodness in every part of their life, and not only when people were watching,” he says. “Great people do it when nobody’s watching.”
2016 Rio Olympic Games Herdman led the team to a second consecutive bronze medal at the
2016 Olympic Games in
Rio de Janeiro beating host team Brazil 2-1 in front of 40,000 fans at
Arena Corinthians,
São Paulo. Canada's win earned the team the distinction of becoming the first Canadian Olympic team to repeat a medal performance at a summer Olympic Games in more than a century. At the 2016 Olympic Games, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team entered the record books early during the Olympic Tournament, scoring the fastest goal in tournament history in the opening match, before becoming the first Canadian team to win the group stage at an Olympic football tournament – winning all three group stage matches. and earned the team the honour of "FIFA Most Improved Team".
Canada men's national team After the 2016 Olympics, there were concerns that Herdman might take a position coaching the England national women's team. There was a strong feeling that
Canada Soccer needed to keep Herdman in Canada, with some seeing him as the most important person in Canadian soccer. On 8 January 2018, Herdman was named head coach of the
Canada men's national team, as well as the men's national director. In that position he had responsibility for all age groups from under-14s upward. He was also given an unprecedented contract term, up to the
2026 World Cup. Barely a year after taking the job, Herdman stated that Canada would qualify for the
2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. In October 2019, Canada hosted the United States in a CONCACAF Nations League match at BMO Field in Toronto. Canada had not defeated its southern rival in nearly 35 years. The starting lineup included two teenagers: 18-year-old
Alphonso Davies and 19-year-old
Jonathan David. Davies opened the scoring, contributing to a historic 2–0 win for Canada that drew widespread praise for head coach Herdman. Following the match, players highlighted his motivational and tactical leadership. Striker
Lucas Cavallini told CBC, "Every minute of the day, he has a motivational speech. That’s why we're here." David added, "This guy knows what he's doing… because he has a tactic every game." In 2021, he guided the team up the
FIFA World Rankings from 72nd to 40th, to earn the team the honour of "Most Improved Side" of the year. On 10 February 2022, the Canada men's team improved to 33rd in the FIFA World Rankings. During 2021–22, Herdman coached Canada to a record 17-game unbeaten streak. In the lead up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, there were reports that Herdman single handedly secured private donations to fund training camp needs, including his staff. On 27 March 2022, he led the team to qualify for the
2022 FIFA World Cup with a 4-0 victory over Jamaica at BMO Field in Toronto, its first World Cup in 36 years. He was the first manager to lead both the national women's and men's teams of a nation to qualify for a World Cup. Throughout Canada's epic rise, players consistently heaped praise on their head coach. During a postmatch TV interview,
Milan Borjan snuck up and doused Herdman with champagne."He deserved this," said Borjan, his trademark sweatpants paired with a "WE CAN" T-shirt and ski goggles to protect against champagne backsplash. "This guy, he did everything."
2022 FIFA World Cup Despite being placed in a challenging group alongside Belgium, Croatia and Morocco, Canada showed moments of promise, including Davies scoring the country's first-ever goal at a men's World Cup. Canada's first match of the tournament against
Belgium on 23 November ended in a 1–0 loss, despite Canada dictating most of the play, and failing to convert any of their 22 shots, including a penalty. Four days later, Canada lost 4–1 to
Croatia, despite scoring first, eliminating Canada from the tournament after two matches. Canada were defeated 2–1 by
Morocco in their final group match on 1 December, finishing fourth in the group with zero points. Off the field, Herdman was recognized for his leadership and emotional intelligence, particularly in managing the late injury of veteran defender
Doneil Henry. Twelve days before Canada’s opener, Henry suffered a calf injury and voluntarily withdrew from the squad to allow a fully fit player to join. Herdman called it one of the "toughest moments" of his coaching career. He supported Henry's decision to remain with the group in a non-playing role, contributing behind the scenes on tactical preparation and player morale: Following the World Cup, Herdman led Canada to the
2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals, losing 2–0 to the United States.
Toronto FC On 1 October 2023, Herdman left his positions with Canada Soccer to take charge of
Toronto FC with
MLS. At the time of the announcement, Toronto sat bottom of the
Eastern Conference, with three wins from twenty-six games in the
2023 season. Under Herdman, Toronto FC earned its largest win margin against rivals CF Montreal with a 5–1 result. Toronto FC also defeated the reigning
CONCACAF Champions Cup holders,
Pachuca, by a 2–1 scoreline in
Leagues Cup action at
BMO Field in the group finale. Herdman resigned in November 2024.
Indonesia national team In December 2025, Herdman signed a two-year contract with a two-year option, to coach Indonesia, as well as the
Indonesia U23 national teams, beginning in January 2026. On 3 January 2026, he was officially introduced as the head coach for both Indonesia senior and U23 national teams. == Legacy in Canada ==