The Chicago Stars fired head coach Martin Sjögren on Wednesday with the club at the bottom of the NWSL standings. Assistant coach Karina Báez will serve as interim coach for the remainder of the season, becoming the team's fifth coach since the start of 2025. Former head coach Lorne Donaldson will return as "interim director of coaching" until the end of the 2026 campaign.

Chicago has a record of 4-1-13 through 18 games, leaving it four points adrift at the foot of the standings. Its minus-24 goal differential is the worst of the 16 teams. Along with Sjögren, the club also dismissed assistant coach Anders Jacobson.

"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," Chicago Stars president Karen Leetzow said. Sjögren, former Norway women's national team manager, was hired last August but did not coach his first game until 2026. His tenure began with a 4-0 loss and ended with the team winless in five games, scoring just once.