The Columbus Crew has added a new voice to interim head coach Laurent Courtois’ staff. The club announced Monday that Shannon Murray has been named an assistant coach, bringing more than a decade of MLS experience to a technical staff that was thinned earlier this season.

Murray arrives from the Portland Timbers, where he’d been a fixture since March 2016. He spent time with both the first team and Timbers 2, working his way up from a video/data analyst to an assistant coach role on Portland’s first team staff, a position he’d held since 2018. Along the way, Murray helped the Timbers reach two MLS Cup finals (2018 and 2021), make six MLS Cup playoff appearances and win a 2020 MLS Is Back Tournament title. He also spent two seasons as an assistant with Timbers 2 in 2016 and 2017.

Before joining Portland, Murray coached in the Seattle Sounders Academy for two seasons. He’s held a role with U.S. Soccer’s National Coaching Education staff since 2011, helping develop the next generation of American coaches. He holds a USSF “A” license, one of the highest coaching credentials available domestically.

Murray’s background extends beyond MLS academies and technical staffs. He’s a University of Washington graduate who previously served as technical director at Evergreen Soccer Club and as director of coaching education for Washington Youth Soccer. Before that, he played six professional seasons in the A-League and the Continental Indoor Soccer League.

This hiring addresses a staffing gap that’s existed since mid-May, when the Crew moved on from head coach Henrik Rydström after a rocky start to the 2026 season. Columbus sat 13th in the Eastern Conference at 3-7-4 when the club relieved Rydström of his duties and promoted assistant Laurent Courtois to interim head coach. That shakeup also cost the Crew two other staff members, as Columbus parted ways with assistant coach Theodor Olsson and analyst Mak Pakhei in the same move.

That left Courtois with a leaner staff — Josh Williams and goalkeeper coach Phil Boerger among them — as he tried to steady the group ahead of the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals and the stretch run before the World Cup break. The results were encouraging, as the Black & Gold beat New York City FC to reach the Open Cup semifinals in Courtois’ debut. The team has looked more like the group that won an MLS Cup and Leagues Cup under Wilfried Nancy in recent seasons, as shown in MLS play against Atlanta United.

Still, replenishing the technical staff was an obvious priority as the front office works through what general manager Issa Tall has described as a summer “refresh” of the roster. Columbus wanted someone with MLS experience, which is hard to find in the middle of a season.

Murray’s addition gives Courtois another experienced set of eyes with a track record of sustained success at a perennial playoff club, and his data/analysis background could be particularly useful as the Crew looks to sharpen the details that were missing in stretches of games earlier this season.

The Black & Gold return to MLS play on July 22 against New York City after the World Cup break, and Murray should be on the sideline as Columbus begins its second-half push for an MLS Cup playoff spot and an Open Cup title.