Chicago Stars FC have parted ways with head coach Marin Sjögren and assistant coach Anders Jacobson. The club announced the departures and additional coaching staff changes on Wednesday, with Karina Baez promoted to interim head coach and the return of Lorne Donaldson, former head coach (2024-2025), as new interim director of coaching.
"We are determined to make our club a serious contender in the NWSL and have a plan in place to do so beginning now and leading into the 2027 season," said Chicago Stars FC President Karen Leetzow.
"We wish Martin and Anders the best in their future endeavors, and we're grateful to Karina for stepping into this leadership role, as well as Lorne Donaldson for his disposition to return to our club and help guide the team during this transition period as we rebuild the infrastructure of our sporting department."
The former Norwegian women's national team manager, Sjögren, and his assistant, Jacobson, joined the club in August 2025. Jacobson held an interim role till Sjogren arrived for the 2026 season. Sjogren departs the club with a 4W-13L-1D record, a one win improvement from 2025, and the team currently sits in last place in the league standings with 12 points.
The duo joined the NWSL side from Hammarby IF, and were hired by former Stars FC general manager Rick Feuz, who was fired in May. Beatrice Callani has been with the club since March as the assistant general manager. The franchise has been hiring for the role since then and will now add a new head coach search to the mix.
Baez will serve as the interim head coach through the 2026 season. She joined the club in 2024 during Donaldson's previous coaching stint and has been with the team for three years. She has experience with the Mexico women's national team and held assistant and head coach positions for multiple Liga MX Femenil sides, including Pachuca, Tigres, and Pumas.
Donaldson's previous departure came in April 2025, as Feuz and the club sought an early change amid a losing season that ended with the club in last place. Now at the midway point of 2026, Sjogren's one-game win improvement still has the team in last place over a year later. Despite the ongoing changes at the club, Donaldson's return in an interim role comes as the franchise looks to further stabilize its sporting department.
Club sources confirmed to CBS Sports that Donaldson's return comes amid player feedback on his previous time with the club. Citing their playoff run in 2024 and his previous tenure, along with overall demeanor. His focus will be more on a locker-room and club presence than on responsibilities on the sidelines. Though club sources did not rule that out in the future.
"This is a group of players I truly care about, and I'm very happy to return to the Chicago Stars for the next several months," Donaldson said in a statement.
"I'm excited to reunite with some familiar faces, for the opportunity to meet new players, and I look forward to working together with the staff to earn some wins in the final stretch of the season."
Multiple staff changes include the addition of full-time assistant Nicole Lukic. She previously served as head coach of Spokane Zephyr FC in the USL Super League, and as director of talent identification for U.S. Soccer's women's youth national teams. Kate Cohen, the interim technical consultant, and Garga Caserta, the interim director of high performance, have also joined the club.
Stars FC will travel to Washington to take on ninth-place Seattle Reign FC on Friday.
