Jill Ellis to lead the USWNT permanently

Initially, there had been speculation that U.S. Soccer would look within the NWSL for a head coach. However, US Soccer pulled from its own ranks announcing Friday that Jill Ellis would serve as the new head coach of the USWNT. This announcement removed the interim tag that had been on her name since the firing of Tom Sermanni.

Sermanni was fired as the head coach of the women's team in a sudden move back in April. US Soccer had been concerned with the direction of the team after a miserable showing at the Algrave Cup and amid growing player malcontent.

In the two games she has served as interim coach the team won against China and tied against Canada. She had previously served as interim coach when Pia Sundhauge left the team in October 2012. Ellis had served as an assistant coach under Sundhauge. During that stint as an interim she racked up five wins and two draws. Ellis has been the development director for women's soccer since 2011.

Ellis had an extensive career coaching in the college ranks starting out as an assistant at North Carolina State in 1988. She also served as an assistant coach at the University of Maryland and then the Univesity of Virginia. Her first head coaching position came at the University of Illinois in 1997. Then from 1999 to 2010 she coached the Univeristy of California, Los Angeles and leading them to eight NCAA Final Four appearances. While at UCLA she has also coached the U-21 and U-20 women's youth teams. She then left UCLA to serve as a full-time development director for US Soccer.