CHICAGO (Dec. 2, 2022) – Chicago Fire FC today announced that goalkeeper coach Adin Brown has departed the Club to join the San Jose Earthquakes as its first team goalkeeper coach. The Pleasant Hill, Calif., native originally joined the Fire in January 2020 and spent three seasons leading the Club’s first team goalkeepers.
“I have truly enjoyed my time here with the Fire and am so grateful to Joe Mansueto, Georg Heitz, Sebastian Pelzer, Ezra Hendrickson, and the entire Chicago Fire organization for their support throughout my three seasons with the Club,” Brown said. “I look forward to this new opportunity in San Jose, which also allows for my wife and I to move closer to family as we are expecting the birth of our first child soon. I am so thankful for the growth I’ve experienced here with the Fire and, more importantly, the incredible relationships I’ve made at the Club that I will continue to carry on for years to come. Chicago and the Fire family will always have a special place in my heart.”
Throughout his tenure with the Fire, Brown was responsible for leading the training and development of the Club’s first team goalkeepers. Under Brown’s guidance, Chicago’s goalkeeping unit boasted two of the top teenage goalkeepers in the world, including 18-year-old Homegrown Gaga Slonina, who recently signed a Club-record transfer deal with English Premier League team, Chelsea F.C., as well as 18-year-old Chris Brady, who represents the U-20 USMYNT and was recently awarded the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship Golden Glove.
In 2022, Slonina notched 12 clean sheets in 32 appearances, which marked the most shutouts in a single season in Club history and the third-most in the League in 2022. Additionally, Slonina became the youngest goalkeeper in MLS history to record a start and a clean sheet in an MLS match when he made his debut on Aug. 4, 2021, in a 0-0 draw with NYCFC.
Brady, who was named USL League One Young Player of the Year while on loan in 2020, earned his first-career MLS start and appearance with the Fire in the 2022 regular season finale on Oct. 9, following a standout season with Chicago Fire FC II in MLS NEXT Pro play. With the Fire II team, Brady logged five clean sheets and 45 saves in his 12 appearances with the Club in 2022.
“I would like to sincerely thank Adin for his contributions to the Club these last three years,” said Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson. “His attention to detail and dedication to the well-rounded development of our goalkeepers, on and off the pitch, is unmatched. Adin is a tremendous leader, coach, and friend, and he will truly be missed on our staff. Nevertheless, we are thrilled for this opportunity for him and his wife Elisabeth to be closer to family as they welcome their first child. We wish them nothing but the best in this next chapter.”
Prior to joining the Fire on Jan. 25, 2020, Brown spent four years as a goalkeeper coach for the Portland Timbers, helping the club achieve its first MLS Cup trophy in 2015. As a player, Brown played professionally for 13 years, appearing in MLS and the Norwegian first division.
