Well, a string of losses actually. In half-season stints with the Seattle Sounders in 2016 and the Galaxy last season, Sigi Schmid’s teams won just eight of 34 games combined. So even with the boos ringing in his ears, he could hear the whispers and the calls for the Galaxy to fire him, just as the Sounders had done.
And that renaissance has done more than just burnish his legacy. It’s also revived a franchise that stumbled through the worst season in its history a year ago, lifting it from the bottom of the Western Conference and into the thick of the playoff race.