NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville has named Gary Smith head coach for its inaugural Major League Soccer season, sticking with the man currently coaching the franchise's USL team to oversee the transition.

Ian Ayre, Nashville's chief executive officer, said in a statement Wednesday that the search for an MLS coach kept returning to Smith as the best candidate for the team needing someone who understands the U.S. game with experience working with both U.S. and international players.

Smith won the MLS Cup title in 2010 as head coach of the Colorado Rapids, the first and only English coach to win the MLS title.

He was hired in April 2017 to coach the Nashville in the USL, and he led Nashville to the USL Cup playoffs and was one of three non-MLS teams to reach the round of 16 in the U.S. Open Cup.

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