Chicago Fire legend C.J. Brown has resigned his position as assistant coach with the team for an irresistible chance to partner again with former boss Jason Kreis.
Brown has joined Kreis as an assistant coach with New York City FC, which opens its inaugural Major League Soccer season in 2015. Brown served as Kreis’ assistant at Real Salt Lake from 2011-13.
“I have made a very difficult decision to leave the Fire,” Brown said in a statement released Monday by the Fire. “My family is very sad about leaving a place we consider our home, but I have been given a chance that I cannot pass up.”
Brown, 39, played 13 MLS seasons — all with the Fire — and is a member of the club’s Ring of Fire hall of fame.
“We did everything we could to keep him,” a team official said.
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Brown played on four U.S. Open Cup winners and an MLS Cup champion. He rejoined the club for the 2014 season as an assistant under first year coach Frank Yallop.
A team official said a search for a replacement for Brown would begin soon.
“It’s disappointing to lose C.J. from our coaching staff, as we made every attempt to ensure he would remain with the club long-term,” Yallop said in a statement. “C.J. was a valuable part of what we are doing here and I have great appreciation for the work he put into this club over the past season.”