The San Jose Earthquakes have hired former Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns president of soccer Gavin Wilkinson as a consultant until the end of the season. Wilkinson will work under Quakes head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena and help with roster management. The Quakes have been attempting to fill a front office gap since the passing of head sporting strategist Vassili Cremanzidis in February.

Wilkinson, 52, helped lead the Timbers to the 2015 MLS Cup title and the Thorns to multiple NWSL Shields and Championships. But off-field controversies dominated his final years in Portland, and he has largely been out of the public eye since being fired in October 2022. He was named sporting director of Sporting Kansas City in January 2024 but parted ways a week later following fan backlash.

Wilkinson's dismissal by Portland came after the release of the Yates Report, which detailed systemic abuse by multiple NWSL coaches. While Wilkinson wasn't sanctioned, he was found to have provided former Thorns manager Paul Riley with a positive job reference despite Riley having been fired for cause. Wilkinson was also involved in controversy regarding a domestic violence allegation against then-Timbers midfielder Andy Polo, for which the club was fined $25,000.

A native of Auckland, New Zealand, Wilkinson earned 38 caps for New Zealand. San Jose said in a statement: "Gavin is a consultant on roster management until the end of the year. We plan to do a GM search to support Bruce Arena after the season."