Richie Ryan was named the First Assistant to Blair Gavin ahead of the 2023 season following a 19-year career as a player. A native of Templetuohy, Ireland, Ryan kicked off his career with Sunderland A.F.C. of the English Premier League and would go on to play in top-flight Ireland, Scotland, and Belgium before making the move to North America in 2014. Ryan won two Irish Cups with the Sligo Rovers in addition to two Irish League Cups, one with Sligo and the other with the Shamrock Rovers.

Ryan then spent nine seasons between Ottaway Fury FC, Jacksonville Armada FC, Miami FC, FC Cincinnati (where his club won the USL Championship regular season title in 2018), and El Paso Locomotive FC.

In total, the primarily-defensive midfielder amassed over 450 appearances and nearly 34,000 minutes on the pitch dating back to 2002 with 10 goals and 17 assists.