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For the second time in two days, the Philadelphia Union have sacked a key member of the coaching staff as the club announced that Assistant Coach and Technical Director Rob Vartughian had been relieved of his duties. Vartughian was initially hired in 2010 as Goalkeeper Coach before being promoted to Assistant Coach and Technical Director. This news comes almost exactly a day after manager John Hackworth was shown the door using almost the exact same language. According to Jonathan Tannenwald of philly.com, the decision was made by the Union's Front Office, not by Interim Manager Jim Curtin.
This seems like a bit of a shock at first, but remember that not only has Vartughian been here since 2010 and has thus been in some part responsible for the teams that have cost two managers their jobs, but as Kevin Kinkead pointed out:
I mean, Vartughian would have had to take orders from someone who, two days ago, was below him in the hierarchy.
— Kevin Kinkead(@KevinKCBS3) June 11, 2014
It remains to be seen what this all means for the club, and rumors abound about successors for both jobs as well as any possible further bloodletting. One thing is for certain - this has set a pretty extreme standard for in-season moves by the club.