LAFC Hands Xavi Tamarit the Interim Job With Its Playoff Season on the Line

LAFC has named Xavi Tamarit its interim head coach. The club confirmed the appointment on Thursday, October 1, after ending Marc Dos Santos’ tenure as head coach.

Tamarit joined LAFC in January and brings experience from coaching roles in England, Spain, and Argentina, the club said. That background matters, but familiarity may matter more right now: he has spent the season working inside this squad and inherits a team with little time to change its direction.

A short runway in a tight playoff race

When LAFC announced Dos Santos’ departure, the club sat sixth in the Western Conference with six regular-season games remaining. The team had won once in its previous 10 league matches. That left a narrow window to secure a postseason place and improve its position before the playoffs.

LAFC’s attacking talent gives Tamarit a foundation, but the interim label also signals that the organization is managing two timelines at once: finish this season with urgency, then decide who should lead the next one. The immediate test is whether the players respond quickly enough for the coaching change to affect the standings.

Kris’s Take

This is a practical choice, not a clean reset. Tamarit knows the group, so LAFC avoids spending its final six matches teaching a stranger the roster. But a coaching change this late cannot solve every issue by itself. The players must turn the fresh start into points right away; otherwise, the interim promotion will look more like a bridge to next year than a playoff move.

Sources

LAFC official announcement, October 1, 2026 · MLS report on the coaching change and playoff position.