Gregg Berhalter is set to return as the head coach of the USMNT only six months after leaving the job following the United States’ departure from the FIFA World Cup.

The coach who led the United States to the Round of 16 is in negotiations to come back for a second spell in charge with an announcement expected to be made imminently, according to The Athletic’s Paul Tenorio and Pablo Maurer.

BREAKING: Gregg Berhalter is set to return as manager of the #USMNT, according to multiple sources briefed on the negotiations.

Deal still being finalized, but return is imminent.

Reporting with @MLSist: https://t.co/TnDBwhFB5a

— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) June 16, 2023

Gregg Berhalter expected to take over USMNT for second time

The news has been received with a mixed reaction from pundits and players alike, with former US international Clint Dempsey saying on CBS about the appointment, “I’m confused. If you go back with Berhalter then we’ve wasted a lot of time. Why have we wasted this much time to go back with who we had in the beginning?”

Berhalter initially left his post as USMNT head coach following a dispute with Gio Reyna after the 49-year-old issued a statement saying that over thirty years prior he had kicked his wife, with whom Reyna’s mother is best friends with, in the legs after an argument.

However, in March the US Soccer Federation was cleared of any wrongdoing in appointing Berhalter as head coach back in 2018. Speaking following the United States’ bad-tempted 3-0 CONCACAF Nations League Semi-Final win over Mexico, in which four players were sent off, forward Timothy Weah said, “I’m happy of course” regarding the news about Berhalter.