Herdman began coaching football at a young age in England, while he was a student and part-time university lecturer at Northumbria University.[2] He was a development coach for Sunderland's youth academy until 2001, when he moved to New Zealand.[3]
New Zealand women's
Herdman arrived in New Zealand and joined the national association football programme in 2003, initially acting as Coach Education Manager and later as the Director of Football Development. Herdman was head coach for the New Zealand women's national football team from 2006 to 2011. Working with the national women's teams, he led the U-20 squad to the World Championship in 2006 and the later renamed U-20 World Cup in 2010. He also guided the senior squad to the FIFA Women's World Cups in 2007 and 2011 as well as the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[4][5][6]
On 8 January 2018, Herdman was named head coach of the Canada men's national soccer team.[15] He "also becomes men's national director, with responsibility for all age groups from under-14s upward".[16]
In 2021, he guided the team up the FIFA World Rankings from 72nd to 40th, its highest position to date, to earn the team the honour of "Most Improved Side" of the year.[17] On 10 February 2022, he improved Canada to 33rd in the FIFA World Rankings.[18]
On 27 March 2022, he led the team to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, its first World Cup in 36 years,[19] becoming the first manager to have successfully led both the national women's and men's teams of a nation to qualify for a World Cup.[20][21] Canada's first match of the tournament against Belgium on November 23 ended in a 1–0 loss, despite Canada dictating most of the play, and failing to convert any of their 22 shots, including a penalty.[22][23] Four days later, Canada lost 4–1 to Croatia, despite scoring first, eliminating Canada from the tournament after two matches.[24] Canada were defeated 2–1 by Morocco in their final group match on December 1, finishing fourth in the group with zero points.[25]
Following the World Cup, Herdman's team began struggling, which included a 2–0 loss to the United States in the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals. The loss prompted Herdman to publicly criticize Canada Soccer for a lack of funding and resources.[26]
Toronto FC
On 28 August 2023, it was announced that Herdman would depart the Canadian national team to take charge of MLS team Toronto FC, effective October 1. At the time of the announcement, TFC sat bottom of the Eastern Conference, with 3 wins from 26 games in the 2023 season.[27]
