{"id":34718,"date":"2025-09-02T18:49:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T17:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/?p=34718"},"modified":"2025-09-02T18:49:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T17:49:24","slug":"breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a move that has electrified the baseball world and left fans buzzing with excitement, Johnny Bench, the legendary Hall of Fame catcher, is officially returning to the game as the new head coach of the team for the 2026 season. The announcement came earlier today at a press conference packed with reporters, former players, and a throng of ecstatic supporters eager to witness history being made once again.<\/p>\n

\"\"
COOPERSTOWN, NEW YORK – JULY 27: Hall of Famer Johnny Bench is introduced during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Clark Sports Center on July 27, 2025 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Legend Returns<\/p>\n

For many, Johnny Bench\u2019s name is synonymous with greatness. Widely regarded as one of the greatest catchers in Major League Baseball history, Bench anchored the Cincinnati Reds dynasty of the 1970s\u2014the famed \u201cBig Red Machine.\u201d His resume is legendary: 14-time All-Star, two-time National League Most Valuable Player, 10 Gold Gloves, and two World Series championships. Bench\u2019s defensive brilliance, leadership, and clutch hitting made him the standard for catchers for generations to follow.<\/p>\n

Now, nearly four decades after his retirement as a player, Bench will step into a new role\u2014one that merges his legacy with his lifelong love for teaching the game. His appointment as head coach marks his first official return to the dugout in a leadership capacity, a development that fans and analysts alike are calling both \u201chistoric\u201d and \u201clong overdue.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Announcement<\/p>\n

Team president Michael Donnelly confirmed the decision this morning, introducing Bench as the face of the team\u2019s new era.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just about hiring a coach,\u201d Donnelly said. \u201cIt\u2019s about bringing back the very spirit of baseball, embodied by one of its greatest icons. Johnny Bench represents leadership, resilience, and the pursuit of excellence. Our players are about to learn from the best to ever do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bench himself appeared humbled yet energized as he addressed the crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaseball has always been my first love,\u201d Bench said. \u201cI\u2019ve been blessed with a lifetime in this game, and now I\u2019m thrilled to step back onto the field in this new role. I want to inspire, teach, and lead these young men the same way I was inspired when I wore the uniform. Together, we\u2019re going to build something unforgettable in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans Celebrate<\/p>\n

The announcement sent shockwaves across the sports world. Social media immediately erupted with celebration, with hashtags like #BenchIsBack and #LegendReturns trending within minutes. Outside the stadium, fans gathered with homemade signs, wearing vintage Reds jerseys, and chanting Bench\u2019s name. For many longtime supporters, the return of such an iconic figure feels like a bridge between past glory and future promise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought I\u2019d see Johnny Bench back in uniform,\u201d said lifelong fan Denise Thompson, her voice breaking with emotion. \u201cHe\u2019s a hero, not just for what he did on the field, but for the way he carried himself off it. This is the best news in years.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Bench Brings to 2026<\/p>\n

Beyond his storied past, Bench\u2019s appointment carries tangible benefits for the team. Known for his sharp baseball IQ, ability to manage pitchers, and calm presence under pressure, he is uniquely positioned to mentor a new generation of players. Analysts point out that the team, while talented, has lacked consistent leadership in recent years. Bench\u2019s arrival could provide both the discipline and inspiration needed to turn potential into championships.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohnny Bench isn\u2019t just a coach\u2014he\u2019s a standard,\u201d said ESPN analyst Carl Reynolds. \u201cHe sets the tone simply by walking into the clubhouse. The young guys are going to see a Hall of Famer leading them, and that\u2019s powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
COOPERSTOWN, NEW YORK – JULY 27: Hall of Famer Johnny Bench is introduced during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Clark Sports Center on July 27, 2025 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the 2026 season approaches, expectations are soaring. Ticket sales spiked immediately following the announcement, with opening day already projected to be a sellout. Merchandise featuring Bench\u2019s iconic number and his new coaching title is also being rushed to production.<\/p>\n

While challenges inevitably lie ahead, one thing is clear: the arrival of Johnny Bench as head coach has reenergized not only the team but the entire fanbase. Baseball is a game built on history, tradition, and moments of magic\u2014and today, fans are rejoicing in one of those moments.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a move that has electrified the baseball world and left fans buzzing with excitement, Johnny Bench, the legendary Hall of Fame catcher, is officially returning to the game as the new head coach of the team for the 2026 season. The announcement came earlier today at a press conference packed with reporters, former players, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Soccerinfo.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-02T17:49:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_0765.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1305\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"divinesoccerinfo.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"divinesoccerinfo.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/02\\\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/02\\\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"divinesoccerinfo.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1f76d33a1d75741800760d3b780e9dd5\"},\"headline\":\"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-02T17:49:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/02\\\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":779,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/02\\\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/IMG_0765.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/02\\\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/02\\\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/02\\\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/02\\\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/02\\\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/IMG_0765.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-02T17:49:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1f76d33a1d75741800760d3b780e9dd5\"},\"description\":\"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/02\\\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/02\\\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/02\\\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/IMG_0765.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/IMG_0765.jpeg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1305,\"caption\":\"COOPERSTOWN, NEW YORK - JULY 27: Hall of Famer Johnny Bench is introduced during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Clark Sports Center on July 27, 2025 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac\\\/Getty Images)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/02\\\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Soccerinfo.com\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1f76d33a1d75741800760d3b780e9dd5\",\"name\":\"divinesoccerinfo.com\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/587c9e038d335f9d57920fcf31dc8f50237a7cf0ec12645a5b69ccf844eb198f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/587c9e038d335f9d57920fcf31dc8f50237a7cf0ec12645a5b69ccf844eb198f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/587c9e038d335f9d57920fcf31dc8f50237a7cf0ec12645a5b69ccf844eb198f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"divinesoccerinfo.com\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/divinesoccerinfo-com\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026","description":"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026","og_description":"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026","og_url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/","og_site_name":"Soccerinfo.com","article_published_time":"2025-09-02T17:49:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1305,"url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_0765.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"divinesoccerinfo.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"divinesoccerinfo.com","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"divinesoccerinfo.com","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f76d33a1d75741800760d3b780e9dd5"},"headline":"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026","datePublished":"2025-09-02T17:49:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/"},"wordCount":779,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_0765.jpeg","articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/","name":"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_0765.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-09-02T17:49:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f76d33a1d75741800760d3b780e9dd5"},"description":"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_0765.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_0765.jpeg","width":2048,"height":1305,"caption":"COOPERSTOWN, NEW YORK - JULY 27: Hall of Famer Johnny Bench is introduced during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Clark Sports Center on July 27, 2025 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac\/Getty Images)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/02\/breaking-update-today-fans-rejoice-as-johnny-bench-returns-to-the-team-as-their-new-head-coach-to-take-over-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BREAKING UPDATE: Today fans rejoice as Johnny Bench returns to the team as their new head coach to take over 2026\u2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/","name":"Soccerinfo.com","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f76d33a1d75741800760d3b780e9dd5","name":"divinesoccerinfo.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/587c9e038d335f9d57920fcf31dc8f50237a7cf0ec12645a5b69ccf844eb198f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/587c9e038d335f9d57920fcf31dc8f50237a7cf0ec12645a5b69ccf844eb198f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/587c9e038d335f9d57920fcf31dc8f50237a7cf0ec12645a5b69ccf844eb198f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"divinesoccerinfo.com"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com"],"url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/author\/divinesoccerinfo-com\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_0765.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34718"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34720,"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34718\/revisions\/34720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}