Chris Latham named Head Coach of the Chicago Hounds.

Chris Latham is the new Head Coach of the Chicago Hounds. The 49-year-old Australian has been given the full-time role following Rob Webber’s return to England with Saracens. Webber had replaced Sam Harris late in the regular season after mixed results.

It’s the second lead role for Latham in MLR. He coached the Utah Warriors in 2020 but had to step down from the role ahead of the 2021 campaign for personal reasons. A long-time Wallabies star, Latham spent this past year as an Assistant Coach with the Seawolves under Allen Clarke.

The defending champions were forced to make a change at their Head Coach position when Scott Mathie was snapped up by Edinburgh to be their new Attack Coach. Taking over is a familiar face as Ryan Martin returns a stint in Super Rugby to take the job for the second time. It was Martin who Mathie had replaced two years ago, with the former joining the Melbourne Rebels.

Also added to the staff is a new Forwards Coach. Long-time Top 14 lock Dewald Senekal has made an abrupt departure from Benetton Treviso to join New England. The 43-year-old South African joins returning Pom Simona on a strong coaching ticket for the 2025 campaign.

Cory Brown led the Gold to their first-ever playoff appearance this past season, but with success comes opportunity. He has now returned to New Zealand to take up a job as Attack Coach for the Highlanders. Brown’s replacement will be countryman Danny Lee, who departed San Diego at the end of the season after three years in charge. NOLA do not have a roster full of international stars like the Legion, so it will be interesting to see how Lee adjusts to a very different environment.

Stepping into the lead role for Lee at Snapdragon Stadium is John Manenti. The 53-year-old makes the move from the Australia Men’s 7s side, reportedly turning down a contract extension in favor of Major League Rugby. Manenti has been mostly a sevens specialist in recent years, leading Australia’s Women’s side from 2018 to 2021. Before that he won three Shute Shields with Eastwood and led the Wallaroos to a 3rd-place finish at the 2010 Women’s World Cup.

Despite a disappointing campaign that saw the Warriors missing out on the postseason, Greg Cooper will be staying put in what is the final year of his current contract. Utah CEO Kimball Kjar confirmed Cooper would be staying in an end-of-season letter:

“Over our seven seasons our staff and team have seen at least three leadership changes and with numerous adjustments in the staff and roster leading into 2024. As such, in my judgment and experience the ironic solution to the Warriors historic consistent inconsistency is exactly that: some consistency.”

After three seasons as the SaberCats Director of Rugby, Heyneke Meyer has left Houston and returned home to South Africa. There will be continuity with leadership, however, with Pote Human staying put. His title remains Head Coach but he will assume the senior direction role over rugby operations.

Steve Brett’s time with the organization has come to a close. He was initially hired as Attack Coach at Rugby ATL for the 2021 season but took over as Head Coach following Scott Lawrence’s resignation just ahead of the 2022 campaign. Brett made the relocation to Los Angeles but will not stay on in 2025.

Some have speculated that former Giltinis coach Steve Hoiles could reunite with RFC LA president Adam Freier, after the former announced his departure from Randwick earlier this year. Hoiles says the impetus for his move to California is to expand his RCVRI wellness business. Another former Giltinis coach, Darren Coleman, had also been tipped for a return to MLR but has taken up a new job with Hunter Wildfires in the Shute Shield.