Last Updated on September 26, 2026 by Miguel Manjate
Eric Quill comes from a Texas family whose influence helped shape both his playing career and his approach to coaching. Born on February 28, 1978, and raised in Missouri City, Texas, the FC Dallas head coach knew from an unusually young age that he wanted to build his life around soccer.
Quill is married to former United States international soccer player and coach Susan Bush Quill, and the couple have four children. Soccer is therefore deeply embedded in the Quill household, with both Eric and Susan having competed at high levels before becoming coaches. Eric has also spoken publicly about his own parents, explaining that his mother was an elementary-school teacher and his father was a pastor. However, their names and details about possible brothers or sisters have remained outside reliable public reporting.
Who Is Eric Quill’s Wife?
Eric Quill’s wife is Susan Bush Quill, a former United States women’s national-team player and highly experienced soccer coach.
Susan grew up in Houston and developed into one of the country’s leading young female soccer players. She later attended the University of North Carolina, one of the most successful programs in women’s college soccer history.
Her career included national championships with North Carolina, appearances for the United States women’s national team and professional soccer with the San Diego Spirit.
After her playing career, Susan moved into coaching and eventually became a Division I head coach, high-school coach and private soccer trainer.
Eric and Susan therefore share much more than a marriage. Soccer has been a central part of both of their lives for decades.
Who Is Susan Bush Quill?
Susan Bush Quill, born Susan Elizabeth Bush, is a former American soccer player and coach from Houston, Texas.
As a teenager, she became one of the most highly regarded recruits in American girls soccer. She played with Challenge Soccer Club and earned major national high-school honors before joining the University of North Carolina.
Susan competed for the Tar Heels during one of the strongest periods in the program’s history and became a team captain.
Her soccer career also took her into the United States national-team setup. North Carolina’s official biography credits her with 10 senior international appearances and three goals.
She trained extensively with the U.S. national team around the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup cycle and was also an Olympic alternate.
After college, Susan played professionally for the San Diego Spirit before beginning her coaching career.
Eric Quill and Susan Bush Worked Together at the University of Houston
The University of Houston became an important part of both Eric and Susan’s coaching careers.
Susan joined Houston’s women’s soccer staff before becoming the program’s head coach in 2007.
That same year, Houston hired Eric as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
Eric had recently completed a nine-year Major League Soccer playing career and was beginning to establish himself on the coaching side of the game.
He later described his time with the University of Houston women’s team as an important stage in his development as a coach.
Susan and Eric eventually became husband and wife, creating a family in which both parents had extensive playing and coaching experience.
Eric and Susan Quill Have Four Children
Eric and Susan Quill have four children.
The number is confirmed by the Quill Soccer Academy, the training organization founded by Susan. Its current biography states that Susan is married to Eric and that the couple have four children.
New Mexico United also publicly referred to Eric, Susan and their young children when Quill left the club to become FC Dallas head coach in November 2024.
The children’s names and individual biographies have not been consistently disclosed in authoritative public sports sources.
Because several of them are young and are not public professional athletes, their private information should not be reconstructed from school records or social-media profiles.
Soccer Is Central to the Quill Family
The Quill household has an unusual amount of high-level soccer experience.
Eric spent nine seasons as a professional player in Major League Soccer before becoming a successful coach.
Susan competed for North Carolina, represented the United States and played professionally before building a long coaching career of her own.
The couple later created an environment in which soccer development remained part of family life.
Susan founded the Quill Soccer Academy, which focuses on individual and small-group player development.
The academy describes Eric and Susan as sharing a passion for developing players and building confidence through technical training.
Who Are Eric Quill’s Parents?
Eric Quill has spoken publicly about both of his parents, although their names have not been reliably published in the major soccer sources covering his life.
What he has revealed about them is particularly meaningful because he credits their professions and personalities with influencing the type of coach he eventually became.
Eric’s mother was an elementary-school teacher, while his father was a pastor.
Quill has said that his coaching approach developed partly from the balance he observed between his mother and father while growing up.
The combination of teaching and pastoral leadership provided two different examples of communication, guidance and responsibility inside his childhood home.
Eric Quill’s Father
Eric Quill’s father was a pastor.
Although his name has not been clearly established through reliable soccer reporting, Eric has spoken directly about his father’s influence.
His father also appears in one of the most revealing stories about Eric’s childhood ambitions.
When Eric was approximately 10 years old, his father asked him what he wanted to become when he grew up.
Quill’s answer was unusually specific: he wanted to become a professional soccer player and then become a coach.
Decades later, that childhood plan became almost exactly what happened.
Eric played professionally in Major League Soccer before progressing through college, youth and professional coaching to become FC Dallas head coach.
Eric Quill Knew His Career Goal at Age 10
Quill has said there was never much of a detour from the career he imagined as a child.
Even in other sports such as basketball, he naturally gravitated toward leadership roles and thought like a coach.
His father’s childhood question therefore captured something that was already deeply established in Eric’s personality.
He wanted first to experience the game as a player and then to teach and lead others.
That progression also reflects the family environment in which he grew up, particularly the examples provided by a teacher mother and pastor father.
Eric Quill’s Mother
Eric Quill’s mother was an elementary-school teacher.
Her name has not been reliably published in the major profiles of Eric’s career.
Quill has nevertheless specifically cited her profession when explaining the origins of his coaching mentality.
Teaching requires an ability to communicate ideas differently depending on the person learning them, something that later became important in Eric’s work with soccer players.
He has spoken about the need for coaches to understand that players cannot all be handled exactly the same way.
That philosophy became especially important during his years developing teenagers with Texans SC and North Texas SC.
How Eric Quill’s Parents Influenced His Coaching Style
Quill has described his coaching personality as partly emerging from the balance between his parents.
His mother worked with children as a teacher, while his father guided a congregation as a pastor.
Both professions involve communication, leadership and helping other people develop, even though they operate in very different environments.
Eric eventually applied similar principles to soccer.
He has emphasized patience, individual communication and understanding that different players respond to different forms of coaching.
That approach became one of the central themes of his work in youth development.
Does Eric Quill Have Siblings?
As of now, reliable public sources do not clearly confirm whether Eric Quill has brothers or sisters.
Profiles covering his childhood and coaching philosophy discuss his parents but do not provide a verified list of siblings.
This should not be interpreted as confirmation that Quill is an only child.
It simply means that no sibling relationship can currently be established confidently from authoritative soccer or biographical sources.
Eric Quill Grew Up in Missouri City, Texas
Eric Quill grew up in Missouri City, Texas, in the Houston metropolitan area.
Soccer became his primary ambition at an early age.
Quill developed into one of the strongest young American players of his generation and became involved with United States youth national teams.
His talent eventually attracted interest from Europe.
Ajax, one of the world’s most famous player-development clubs, offered Quill an opportunity while he was still young.
He ultimately chose to remain in the United States and attend Clemson University instead.
Eric Quill’s Playing Career
Quill spent one season at Clemson in 1996, recording six goals and five assists.
After that freshman season, he left college soccer and entered Major League Soccer through the Project-40 program.
His MLS career included spells with the Tampa Bay Mutiny, Kansas City Wizards, Dallas Burn and MetroStars.
Quill became especially productive with Tampa Bay during the early 2000s and developed a reputation as a creative wide midfielder.
His later season with the Dallas Burn created an early connection with the organization he would eventually return to as a coach.
Eric Quill Returns to Houston and Starts Coaching
After ending his professional playing career, Quill returned to the Houston area.
He completed his education at the University of Houston, earning a degree in health and psychology.
He also moved into coaching.
The University of Houston hired him as an assistant with its women’s soccer program in 2007, beginning an important new stage of his professional life.
Quill later described coaching women at Houston and players of different ages in youth soccer as important experiences because they forced him to learn patience and adjust how he communicated.
Eric Quill Becomes an Elite Youth Coach
Quill later became closely associated with Texans SC Houston.
As academy director and under-18 head coach, he helped build one of the strongest non-MLS academy teams in the country.
Texans SC won the U.S. Soccer Development Academy national championship in 2017.
Quill was also named Development Academy Coach of the Year.
Several players who later reached high-level professional soccer developed under him, most notably United States international defender Chris Richards.
The success strengthened Quill’s reputation as one of the country’s leading player-development coaches.
Eric Quill Joins the FC Dallas Organization
FC Dallas appointed Quill as the first head coach in North Texas SC history ahead of the club’s inaugural 2019 season.
His first campaign could hardly have been more successful.
North Texas SC won the inaugural USL League One championship, and Quill was named league Coach of the Year.
The position also brought his family into the Dallas area, where Susan continued developing her own coaching career.
Susan Quill’s Coaching Career in Dallas
Susan remained heavily involved in soccer while Eric progressed through professional coaching.
After coaching at the University of Houston, Kinkaid School and St. John’s School, she became head girls soccer coach at the Episcopal School of Dallas.
She also coached SouthStar FC in the Women’s Premier Soccer League.
Her current work through Quill Soccer Academy further demonstrates that soccer remains a shared professional passion within the family.
Susan holds a U.S. Soccer “A” coaching license and has decades of playing, coaching and personal-training experience.
The Quill Family’s Moves for Eric’s Coaching Career
Professional coaching eventually required the Quill family to experience several major moves.
After leaving North Texas SC, Eric joined the Columbus Crew as an assistant coach.
He then became head coach of New Mexico United in June 2023.
Quill quickly transformed New Mexico into one of the strongest teams in the USL Championship and led the club through a successful 2024 season.
When FC Dallas offered him its head-coaching position, however, returning to Texas carried both professional and family significance.
Returning to FC Dallas Was a Family Homecoming
Eric left New Mexico United in November 2024 to become FC Dallas head coach.
New Mexico United publicly wished Eric, Susan and their young children well when announcing his departure.
Quill described the FC Dallas opportunity as a dream job and called the move a blessing for his family.
Both Eric and Susan have strong Texas connections, making his return to Dallas more than simply another coaching appointment.
It returned the family to a region where both had previously built important parts of their careers.
Eric Quill Becomes FC Dallas Head Coach
FC Dallas officially appointed Quill on November 20, 2024.
He became the ninth full-time head coach in franchise history.
The appointment completed an unusual circle in his career.
Quill had played for the Dallas Burn in 2004, later coached North Texas SC and then returned to lead the Major League Soccer first team.
As of now, he remains the head coach of FC Dallas.
Eric Quill’s Family FAQ
Who is Eric Quill’s wife?
Eric Quill is married to Susan Bush Quill, a former United States women’s national-team player, professional footballer and longtime soccer coach.
Who is Susan Bush Quill?
Susan Bush Quill is a Houston native who played college soccer at the University of North Carolina, earned senior United States national-team caps and played professionally for the San Diego Spirit before becoming a coach.
How many children does Eric Quill have?
Eric and Susan Quill have four children, according to the current biography published by Quill Soccer Academy.
What are Eric Quill’s children called?
The names of all four children are not consistently documented through authoritative public sports sources. Because the children maintain relatively private profiles, this article does not attempt to identify them through private social-media or school records.
Who are Eric Quill’s parents?
The names of Eric Quill’s parents have not been reliably published in major soccer sources. Eric has said that his mother was an elementary-school teacher and his father was a pastor.
Who is Eric Quill’s father?
Eric Quill’s father was a pastor. When Eric was around 10, his father asked what he wanted to do when he grew up, and Eric said he wanted to become a professional soccer player and then a coach.
Who is Eric Quill’s mother?
Eric Quill’s mother was an elementary-school teacher. Quill has credited the balance between his mother and father with influencing his coaching style.
Does Eric Quill have siblings?
No brothers or sisters have been reliably identified through the authoritative public sources reviewed. That does not necessarily mean he is an only child; it means his sibling information remains private.
Did Eric Quill play professional soccer?
Yes. Quill spent nine seasons as a professional player, primarily in Major League Soccer, with clubs including Tampa Bay Mutiny, Kansas City Wizards, Dallas Burn and MetroStars.
Did Eric Quill play for FC Dallas?
Yes. He played for the franchise in 2004 when it was still known as the Dallas Burn.
Where is Eric Quill from?
Eric Quill is from Missouri City, Texas, in the greater Houston area.
When was Eric Quill born?
Eric Quill was born on February 28, 1978.
Is Eric Quill still FC Dallas coach?
Yes. As of now, Eric Quill is the head coach of FC Dallas in Major League Soccer.
Did Eric Quill coach North Texas SC?
Yes. Quill was the first head coach in North Texas SC history and led the club to the inaugural USL League One championship in 2019.
Miguel Manjate is a football journalist and editor covering the Premier League, European competitions, and transfer news, with a strong focus on match analysis and data-driven reporting.
