Legion announce Mark Briggs as new head coach
The Birmingham Legion today announced Mark Briggs as the second permanent head coach in team history.
The hiring is not a big surprise; Briggs was definitely on the radar as a candidate given his history of success in the USL Championship and his availability. Eagle-eyed fans have may also have spotted him on the bench this past Sunday.
Briggs mutually parted ways with Sacramento Republic at the end of last season. He was however expected by some to be seeking a position in the UK…
The 43-year-old Briggs is an Englishman, hailing from Wolverhampton, which happens to be a mere 12 miles from the other Birmingham. His playing career spanned 16 years and a remarkable 20 clubs in England, Denmark, Malta and the US. The teams he played were mostly in lower divisions, although he played in the top flights in Denmark and Malta briefly. Here in the US he was signed by the Charleston Battery in 2010 for a short loan stint and also played with the Kalamazoo Outrage and Wilmington Hammerheads, both semi-professional teams in the Premier Development League, both now defunct. After ending his playing career he quickly became an assistant and then the head coach for the Hammerheads. Within a year he was noticed by Real Monarchs (then in the USL Championship) where he started as an assistant and served as head coach for two years, leading the team to the regular season title in 2017, for which he was named USL Coach of the Year. In 2019 he took over at Sacramento Republic where he remained until the end of last season. During his tenure SacRep missed the playoffs just once (2021) and had a historic 2022 run in the US Open Cup, where they made it to the final, losing 0-3 to Orlando City.
His managerial record in the USL Championship is 111-67-52135-11-10 with Real Monarchs, 76-56-42 with SacRep). He is one of only 3 USLC head coaches to accumulate 100 wins.
We will have more on this major news event tomorrow after his introductory press conference. For now we welcome Mark to the Magic City and are excited for the future under his leadership.
