JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The most successful coach in Jacksonville Armada history is leaving the club. Mark Lowry, who guided the Armada to the club's first playoff appearance--and playoff win--this season is departing.
The team released a statement:
"When we signed head coach Mark Lowry to a three-year contract, our goal was to put the most competitive team possible on the field, and win many NASL titles along the way.
Although we changed leagues, our ultimate objectives didn’t change. We provided Lowry with the resources necessary to assemble a quality squad and won our first-ever playoff game.
Our hope was that Lowry would stay with the team for the duration of his contract and continue to build a winning tradition for the Armada FC. Unfortunately, he has requested that he be let out of his contract early to pursue another coaching opportunity. We have granted that request.
The Armada FC would like to thank Coach Lowry for all of the contributions he made to our team’s success, from joining Armada FC’s coaching staff in 2015 and then taking the reins as head coach in 2016.
We intend to build on our winning tradition.
Our search for a quality coach who will lead us to continued success has already begun. I can assure you that our goal is to bring in the highest quality coach possible who will embrace our culture and take the team to the next level.
Stay tuned, as we will have several exciting announcements for you shortly."
Lowry has not yet said where he will be coaching next.
Lowry initially arrived on the Armada staff as an assistant in the club's first season in 2015. When head coach Guillermo Hoyos was fired and Eric Dade was brought in from the Armada development academy as interim head coach, Lowry was brought in as an assistant. He stayed on staff as an assistant to Tony Meola when the three-time World Cup goalkeeper was hired as the head coach in Jacksonville. When Meola was let go on Oct. 6, 2016, Lowry was promoted to interim head coach and later made the fulltime head coach.
In his two-plus seasons as head coach, Lowry compiled a record of 24 wins, 17 draws and 16 losses in 57 matches across all competitions.