UCLA and U.S. Soccer Schmid's first coaching experience was in 1975 for
Bishop Montgomery High School. He also founded and coached a small club called the South Bay Vikings. Between 1977 and 1979, he served as an assistant coach under
Steve Gay at UCLA. In his first 10 years as coach, the Bruins won or tied 85 percent of their games. The Bruins won the 1990 national championship by defeating
Rutgers 4–3 on
penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation, two sessions of overtime, and another two periods of
sudden death. During the 22-game season, UCLA outscored their opponents 61–16. The team continued to thrive in the following season, part of their success coming from Schmid's decision to move
Cobi Jones from a midfield position to forward. Jones later played for Schmid in the MLS and became a top player for the national team. A reporter for the
Richmond Times-Dispatch wrote that after winning just two titles in 17 postseason appearances, UCLA had finally shed "its 'underachiever' label". The writer also applauded Schmid's decision to move the team's leading
striker into a midfield position which led to the player scoring the winning goal. By 1994, he had coached 16 players at UCLA who were later selected for the U.S. national team. during which five of Schmid's UCLA players appeared for the national team. Schmid returned to coach the U-20 national team at the
2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. but lost to Italy in the first round of the knockout stage. One of the forwards on the national team,
Eric Wynalda, said that Schmid's organization on the field was disciplined. Wynalda commented that Schmid had a "great handle on the defensive side of the game" while he also admired that the strikers were allowed to be creative.
LA Galaxy Schmid left UCLA to replace
Octavio Zambrano as head coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy five games into the
1999 MLS season. At the time, the team was ranked fifth in the
Western Conference with a tally of only three goals. The team's captain,
Robin Fraser, gave credit to Schmid's emphasis on defense after being named the MLS defender of the year. Los Angeles lost 2–0 to
D.C. United in that year's MLS Cup. Schmid made critical comments of the
referees after the match; he received a $1,000 fine and suspension for the first game of the following season. In
2000, Schmid guided Los Angeles to the playoffs but lost in the semifinals to the
Kansas City Wizards. The team also played in that year's
CONCACAF Champions' Cup, a competition consisting of the best clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The Galaxy defeated the
Honduran champion
Olimpia 3–2 to win the Cup. Schmid was forced to play an atypical squad since the final was held during the MLS off-season while adjustments to the following season's lineup were being made. His successful team of
2001 enjoyed attacking play. The squad included experienced players such as Cobi Jones,
Sasha Victorine,
Luis Hernández,
Simon Elliott, and
Mauricio Cienfuegos. The Galaxy won the conference by two points and finished fourth overall with a 14–7–5 record. The team went on to lose to the
San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS Cup, but won the U.S. Open Cup a week later with a 2–1 overtime victory against the
New England Revolution. Success followed in
2002 when the Galaxy won the
Supporters' Shield for having the best regular season record in the league. Schmid was lauded for his defensive tactics after adjusting the team's standard formation to a
3–5–2 early in the season. The shift allowed
Alexi Lalas to play as a
sweeper without specific
marking responsibilities in the three-man defensive line. Schmid also brought Guatemalan forward
Carlos Ruiz to the team; Ruiz won league
Most Valuable Player (MVP) award that year. The team again reached the Open Cup final but lost to the
Columbus Crew. Victory in the MLS Cup earned the team another berth in the
2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Los Angeles advanced past
Motagua in the first round but fell against
Necaxa in the quarterfinals. In
MLS, the club had its first losing season with a 9–12–9 record and no victories on the road. The Galaxy failed to score goals consistently during the year, managing only a fourth-place finish in the five-team Western Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, Los Angeles defeated San Jose 2–0 in the first
leg, but during the second leg, conceded five goals in the second half of the match and were eliminated. Schmid was criticized by fans and the press speculated he would not return in 2004. A local writer put some of the blame on a switch to defensive style of play while some players questioned his tactics. The following year, he was picked to coach the Western Conference in the
All-Star game. Midway through the season, with the Galaxy in first place, Schmid was fired after a five-game stretch without any wins, in which the team scored only three goals. General manager Doug Hamilton said that the team had a mission "to compete for and win championships", and that "a more entertaining and attractive product on the field." was needed. Schmid left with an overall record of 79–53–32 with a 16–7–3 mark in the playoffs. Reflecting on his demeanor in Los Angeles, Lalas said Schmid had "epic explosions". while another referred to him as "fiery". The team contained young talent but lacked depth and had no star players. In August, after a streak of 13 winless matches, Schmid considered resigning. The team suffered from injuries and inconsistent lineups throughout the season, finishing last in the
Eastern Conference with just 30 goals, the lowest in the league. By the start of
2007, Schmid had rebuilt the roster, keeping only three players he had inherited and acquiring Argentine attacker
Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Schmid cut the Crew's goalkeeper,
Jon Busch, who had been with the team for five years. Schmid had concerns over Busch's playing style and fitness. Busch later criticized Schmid's management skills, and said he would never work for the coach again, but gave credit to Schmid's tactical approach. Scheletto's contributions were crucial to Columbus's improvement that season, but the team failed to make the playoffs. The Crew's performance improved remarkably in the
2008 season. Schmid adjusted their
offensive tactics to be based on
ball possession and flank speed. He made Schelotto a central part of the plan in a roaming playmaker position, a role in which Schelotto excelled and the Argentinian was named the league's MVP. With a 1–0 victory over the
Houston Dynamo at
Crew Stadium on April 26, Schmid became the second MLS coach to win 100 regular-season games. The Crew went on to win the Supporters' Shield with the best record in the league. In the playoffs, Columbus defeated the
New York Red Bulls 3–1 at Schmid's former home stadium, Los Angeles's
Home Depot Center, to win the MLS Cup. Schmid received the Coach of the Year Award for the second time. Part of the success was attributed to Schmid's restructuring of the squad in 2006 and 2007. The MLS ruled that no tampering had occurred, but ordered Sounders FC to financially compensate the Crew.
Seattle Sounders FC Schmid was named the first coach of the new
expansion franchise, Seattle Sounders FC. In their
2009 inaugural season, Seattle defeated D.C. United to win the U.S. Open Cup. On October 24, 2009, Seattle defeated
FC Dallas 2–1, giving Schmid his 125th career MLS regular season win; this win moved Schmid past
Bob Bradley for the most wins in MLS history. He led Seattle to the playoffs where, in the first round, the Dynamo defeated the team 1–0 in overtime of the second leg. Seattle was the first expansion team to make the playoffs in an inaugural season since the 1998
Chicago Fire, when the league was just two years old. The Sounders also advanced through the preliminary round of the
2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League but failed to get past the group stage. The 2010 U.S. Open Cup campaign culminated in Schmid winning his third championship with a 2–1 victory over the Crew at Seattle's
Qwest Field. No MLS team had previously won back-to-back Open Cups. The Sounders rebounded in the second half of the regular season with a 10–2–3 record to qualify for the playoffs. The team faced
Bruce Arena's Galaxy in the two-legged quarter-final. Both coaches are considered to be among the best in the MLS, and it was the first meeting between the two in the playoffs. The Sounders lost by a 3–1 aggregate and Arena moved within one game of Schmid's MLS postseason record of 19 wins. In 2011, Schmid's Sounders FC had many setbacks and a slow start to the season (the club won just 3 of its first 10 matches). Schmid signed a long-term contract extension on July 14, 2011, potentially keeping him with the club through the
2015 MLS season (depending on club options and performance triggers). Although some fans had become frustrated with what they saw as tactical inflexibility and mismanagement of players, general manager
Adrian Hanauer praised Schmid's professionalism and success. The Sounders went on to finish the regular season with the second-best record in the league at 18 wins, 7 losses, 9 draws, and qualified for the playoffs for a third consecutive year. Schmid again led his club to the final of the U.S. Open Cup tournament. They defeated the
Chicago Fire 2–0 to become the first team since 1968 to win the tournament three times consecutively. Seattle also advanced to the knock-out stages of the
CONCACAF Champions League. However, in the MLS playoffs, Sounders FC was again eliminated from the
MLS Cup playoffs in the conference semifinal round by Real Salt Lake. In 2012, Seattle lost in the 2-legged
2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League quarter finals by an aggregate score of 7–3 to
Santos Laguna. The Sounders advanced to the finals of the Open Cup where they were defeated by Sporting Kansas City after penalty kicks. Schmid was furious over what he saw as a controversial call that handed Kansas City the victory. The team finished the
regular season with a 15–8–11 record to make the
playoffs where they advanced past Real Salt Lake to reach the conference championship series against the Galaxy. The team played defensive and suffered a 3–0 blowout in the first leg. They won on the return leg but lost on aggregate. The Sounders began the
2013 regular season without a win until their sixth match. After advancing through the early stages of the
2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League the year prior, Seattle lost in the semifinals to
Santos Laguna. The team was knocked out of the
2013 Open Cup in their first match against the lower division
Tampa Bay Rowdies. Seattle would rally during the middle of the season to put the Supporter's Shield and the regional Cascadia Cup in reach. However, the team ended the season on a skid of seven matches without a win that included substantial losses to both
Colorado and rival
Vancouver. The Sounders beat Colorado in the knockout round of the
2013 MLS Cup Playoffs before losing two matches against arch-rival
Portland. At the end of the season, a poll in
The Seattle Times showed that many fans wanted to see Schmid fired. Pundits speculated on the possibility of his termination based on what they saw as poor tactics, a history of mismanaging skilled players, and a fan base that had higher expectations. Owner
Joe Roth held a post-season meeting with Hanauer and Schmid. Roth later said that the possibility of Schmid losing his job was "close", but instead opted for personnel changes to the squad. Consequently, Schmid met with a core group of players represented by
Osvaldo Alonso,
Clint Dempsey, and
Brad Evans. The group agreed on changes to the team. Starting striker
Eddie Johnson was later traded while a new central defender, winger, midfielder, goalkeeper, and depth at the forward position were brought in. The team played
2014 with Dempsey and
Obafemi Martins playing more through the middle as the Sounders won the
US Open Cup and the
Supporters Shield. During the first half of the 2016 season, the Sounders failed to meet expectations, placing near the bottom of the league with 6 wins, 12 losses, and 2 draws. After a 3–0 loss on July 24 to Sporting Kansas City, in which the Sounders had only one shot, Schmid left the club on mutual terms and was replaced by assistant coach
Brian Schmetzer. After leaving the Sounders, Schmid joined
ESPN as a studio analyst.
Return to LA Galaxy On July 27, 2017, the LA Galaxy named Schmid as their new coach, replacing
Curt Onalfo—the assistant coach and successor to Bruce Arena, who had departed the Galaxy in November 2016 to take over the United States men's national team. Under Onalfo, the Galaxy had lost half of their 20 matches and were on a five-match losing streak in mid-July, missing several key players to injuries. Schmid's first match for the Galaxy in 2017 ended in a scoreless draw against the Seattle Sounders, but the team would only win two matches before ending the season in last place—missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and the fourth time in their history. During the offseason, the Galaxy overhauled its roster and declined to re-sign several starting players, including captain
Jermaine Jones and homegrown player
Gyasi Zardes. Schmid replaced the core team with free agents and trades from other MLS teams, including
Perry Kitchen,
Chris Pontius,
Ola Kamara, and
David Bingham. The Galaxy also signed star striker
Zlatan Ibrahimović, who Schmid hoped would be a "positive impact" on the team. The Galaxy started the season with injuries to key players and some of its new arrivals. The team scored an early victory against new rival
Los Angeles FC in the inaugural match of "
El Tráfico", with Ibrahimović debuting as a substitute and leading the team to a 4–3 win. The Galaxy then slipped and lost four matches in a row, several by a single goal, but recovered and embarked on a nine-match unbeaten streak that lasted until August. The Galaxy then failed to win its next five matches under Schmid and slipped to eighth place in the Western Conference, conceding 11 goals in two away matches to Seattle and Salt Lake. Schmid resigned from the Galaxy on September 10, 2018, and was replaced by assistant coach
Dominic Kinnear. Kinnear replaced Schmid's 3–5–2 formation with a conventional 4–4–2 lineup and returned the team to playoff contention, but ultimately failed to clinch a playoff berth. ==Personal life==