Tigres Speeds Up Coaching Search: Setien Joins the Race Alongside Barros Schelotto and Osorio

Tigres hasn't won since the start of the season, and the front office has already made a call: Guido Pizarro is out as coach, and the club's leadership is now racing against the clock to find a replacement. The latest development is a name that wasn't even on the radar a few days ago: Quique Setien.

The Spanish coach had been floated on Sunday as a distant possibility from Spain, but the tone shifted on Monday. According to ESPN, there have been positive talks between Setien and Tigres leadership, enough to move his name from rumor to real candidate. That puts him alongside two other profiles who had already been gaining traction: Argentine Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Colombian Juan Carlos Osorio.

So what happened to Oscar Pareja, who until recently looked like the favorite? His chances cooled off in the last few hours, though he's not completely out of the conversation yet. In Mexican soccer, negotiations move fast, and what looks dead today can resurface within hours.

Racing the Clock Before Atlante

Tigres' front office has no time to waste. The plan is to wrap up interviews with the three main candidates (Setien, Barros Schelotto and Osorio) and have someone chosen by Thursday at the latest. The urgency has a simple explanation: they want the new coach present, at least in the stands at the Volcan, for Friday's game against Atlante.

If none of the three candidates fully convinces the club or negotiations stall, Tigres already has a backup list of names ready so they don't run out of options.

A Season Start to Forget

The urgency to settle the coaching situation has a lot to do with what's happened on the field. In the Apertura 2026 of Liga MX, Tigres still hasn't tasted victory: one draw and three losses. The most recent, and probably the result that tipped the scales, was a 2-1 loss to Atlas on Saturday, a road game that got away from them.

There was no comfort in the Leagues Cup either, where the team was eliminated in the first phase despite drawing with all three of its MLS opponents (Real Salt Lake, Minnesota United and Vancouver) and winning those matches in penalty shootouts, something that under the tournament's rules wasn't enough to advance.

The schedule offers no breathing room for the next coach. After hosting Atlante, Tigres has another home game against Necaxa and a road trip to Santos Laguna before a new edition of the Clasico Regio, this time set to be played at Estadio BBVA. Whoever takes over the bench will arrive with little time to adjust and the obligation to turn around a slump that, if it continues, will start to cause real concern in Nuevo Leon.