Wilfried Nancy at peace with Celtic stint, keeps MLS door open

Wilfried Nancy says he genuinely enjoyed his brief spell in charge of Celtic, even though it lasted just 33 days and ended with his dismissal. The former CF Montréal and Columbus Crew head coach was hired on December 3, 2025 and let go on January 5, 2026 after six losses in eight matches.

Speaking from Columbus, where he still lives with his family, Nancy admits he may have misjudged the timing of his move to Scotland. With hindsight, he feels a start in January might have been wiser. When he arrived, Celtic were coming off a strong run under club legend Martin O’Neill, who had stepped in on an interim basis and eventually returned later in the season to guide the team to the title.

A perfect storm in Glasgow for the ex-MLS coach

Nancy describes his Celtic experience as a convergence of difficult factors: a congested schedule with games every three days, a squad hit by injuries and a locker room adjusting to a new voice. He tried to implement the proactive, possession-based style that brought him success in MLS, but concedes he was not able to fully establish the collective "energy" he wanted within the team.

He notes that some players were reluctant to move away from the comfort they had found under O’Neill, which made it harder to get full buy-in. Nancy maintains that performances on the pitch did not match the poor results, pointing to matches where his side’s expected goals were significantly higher than the opponent’s. For him, that gap between underlying numbers and final scores makes the outcome tougher to accept.

Nancy also felt skepticism about his largely North American résumé, saying that MLS remains little known in that part of Europe. However, he believes the football people inside the club understood the ideas he was trying to implement.

Enjoying a pause while MLS and Europe call

Since leaving Celtic, Nancy has been embracing what he calls a transition period, a rare chance at a more normal life after being constantly involved in coaching since 2008. In recent months he was a serious candidate for the head coaching job at Strasbourg in France’s Ligue 1, but the club ultimately chose someone else.

Nancy is not fixated solely on returning to Europe. He says he has been contacted by MLS clubs, by European sides and by African national teams and clubs. He expresses gratitude toward MLS and stresses that opportunities arose quickly after his departure from Scotland, sometimes within days.

Against that backdrop, the recent coaching vacancy at LAFC following fellow Québécois Marc Dos Santos’ dismissal naturally raises speculation. Asked about that possibility, Nancy offers only a cautious answer, saying that he has been in touch with many people and prefers to see what the future brings. More than anything, he emphasizes how much he learned about people, culture and his own methods, and concludes that he comes out of the Celtic chapter feeling stronger.