Utah Warriors Fire Head Coach Shawn Pittman

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Warriors relieved head coach Shawn Pittman of his duties. The announcement came Monday afternoon.

The move comes following the Warriors’ 2-6 start to the 2022 Major League Rugby season. As a result, General Manager Brandon Sparks will take on an interim rugby-operations role overseeing the coaching staff for the rest of the season. He will also lead the search for a new head coach.

“The decision to make a change at the head coach position was made in order to make operational adjustments that will promote the greatest success of Warriors’ players individually, and as a group, for the rest of the 2022 season while also setting up the organization and the team for success in 2023 and beyond,” read a statement from the organization. 

We have relieved Shawn Pittman of head coach duties, effective immediately. #ForTheNation

— Utah Warriors Rugby (@utwarriorsrugby) April 4, 2022

Assistant coaches Shaun Davies and Robbie Abel will remain in their current positions, with no other staff changes expected, according to the team.

Shawn Pittman’s Time With The Warriors

“The Utah Warriors are an organization striving to be the best in the MLR by adhering to our Core Values and by helping our players achieve their personal and collective goals, on and off the field,” said Co-Founder and CEO, Kimball Kjar. “Unfortunately, changes sometimes need to be made to live up to that ideal and in this case, we had to make adjustments that saw us release someone we sincerely respect and appreciate. In the end, we thank Shawn for all that he, his wife Sarah and their lovely family have done for the Warriors over the past three seasons and we wish them well with their endeavors in the future.”

During his time with the team, Pittman posted a 12-13 record.