On July 27, 2017, the LA Galaxy named Schmid as their new coach, replacing Curt Onalfo—the assistant coach and successor to Bruce Arena, who had departed the Galaxy in November 2016 to take over the United States men's national team. Under Onalfo, the Galaxy had lost half of their 20 matches and were on a five-match losing streak in mid-July, missing several key players to injuries. Schmid's first match for the Galaxy in 2017 ended in a scoreless draw against the Seattle Sounders, but the team would only win two matches before ending the season in last place—missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and the fourth time in their history.