Coaching
While Schmetzer began his coaching career as a player-assistant coach with the Tacoma Stars, he became a dedicated assistant coach when he moved to the Seattle SeaDogs of the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) in 1995. Fernando Clavijo coached the SeaDogs, which lasted only three seasons before folding. However, they did win the CISL championship their last season, 1997.
In 2002, the Seattle Sounders found themselves without a head coach. General manager Adrian Hanauer called Schmetzer and asked him if he was interested in the job. Schmetzer agreed and took the job that season. In 2004, he coached the Sounders to the A-League championship game where the team lost to the Montreal Impact. The next year the A-League became known as the USL First Division. In 2005, Schmetzer again took the Sounders to the championship game, but defeated the Richmond Kickers in penalty kicks to take the title.
Schmetzer was a finalist for the 2007 coach of the year award. Although the team had started the season 1–3–4, they went on to claim the Commissioner's Cup for the league's best regular season record. The team also had a 15-game unbeaten run that included MLS opponents in the U.S. Open Cup. The Sounders went on to beat the Atlanta Silverbacks 4-0 to win the league championship.
Schmetzer was a candidate for the head coach position with Seattle Sounders FC. The job eventually went to Sigi Schmid while Schmetzer took the role as the top assistant. Schmetzer filled in for Schmid at home against the Houston Dynamo on July 11, 2009. The Sounders won the game 2–1. In week 33 of the 2012 season, he again managed the side in a 3-1 victory over Dallas while Schmid was suspended.
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