2016 Chicago Fire season
The 2016 Chicago Fire season was the club's 21st year of existence, as well as their 19th season in Major League Soccer and their 19th consecutive year in the top-flight of American soccer.
On November 24, 2015 Veljko Paunović, coach of the 2015 World Cup champions Serbia U-20 team, was announced Chicago Fire's new head coach.
Chicago Fire began the regular season on March 6, 2016 with a home match against New York City FC. The Men in Red finished the regular season on October 23, 2016 with an away match against Toronto FC. The club has missed the playoffs for the sixth time in the past seven years.
The loss on the road to Vancouver Whitecaps on May 11, 2016 was the Fire's 28th straight match without a road win. This surpassed the New York Red Bulls for the longest road winless streak in MLS history. With the away loss to Real Salt Lake on August 6, 2016 the streak extended to 36 matches. The two-years and 28 days long streak finally ended when the Fire defeated Montreal Impact, 3-0, on the road on August 20, 2016. It was the first victory away from home since the Fire beat the New England Revolution, 1-0, in Foxborough, MA on July 12, 2014.
Chicago Fire became the first team in MLS history to finish last in the overall table two years in a row.
Squad at the end of the season
As of October 23, 2016. Source:Player movement
In
Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.| Date | Player | Position | Previous Club | Notes | Ref |
| November 30, 2015 |  Matt Polster | M | Chicago Fire | Exercised option | |
| November 30, 2015 | Patrick Doody | D | Chicago Fire | Exercised option | |
| December 17, 2015 | Joey Calistri | F | Chicago Fire Academy | Signed as a Homegrown Player | |
| December 17, 2015 | Drew Conner | M | Chicago Fire Academy | Signed as a Homegrown Player | |
| January 14, 2016 | Brandon Vincent | D | Stanford University | Drafted 4th overall in 2016 MLS SuperDraft, already signed contract with MLS | |
| January 14, 2016 | Jonathan Campbell | D | University of North Carolina | Drafted 12th overall in 2016 MLS SuperDraft, already signed contract with MLS | |
| January 18, 2016 | Michael Harrington | D | Colorado Rapids | Signed as a free agent | |
| January 18, 2016 | Patrick McLain | GK | Sacramento Republic FC | Signed as a free agent | |
| January 23, 2016 |  Răzvan Cociș | M | Chicago Fire | Re-signed with the club, after initially having his contract option declined; signed one-year deal with one year club option | |
| January 23, 2016 |  João Meira | D | Belenenses | Signed as a free agent, one-year deal with one year club option | |
| January 27, 2016 | Nick LaBrocca | M | Colorado Rapids | Signed as a free agent, one-year deal with one year club option | |
| February 2, 2016 |  Johan Kappelhof | D | FC Groningen | Signed as a discovery signing using targeted allocation money | |
| February 26, 2016 | Matt Lampson | GK | Columbus Crew | Signed as a free agent after trial, one-year deal with one year club option | |
| February 29, 2016 | John Goossens | M | FC Voluntari | Signed after a trial, two-year deal with one year club option | |
| March 3, 2016 |  Arturo Álvarez | M |  Videoton FC | Signed after a trial, one-year deal with one year club option | |
| March 11, 2016 | Alex Morrell | M | North Florida Ospreys | Signed to a one-year deal with three-year club option, after being selected 22nd overall in 2016 MLS SuperDraft | |
| May 17, 2016 | Michael de Leeuw | F | FC Groningen | Signed as a discovery signing using targeted allocation money for a three-year deal through 2018 with a club option for 2019 | |
| August 3, 2016 |  David Arshakyan | F |  FK Trakai | Signed as a Special Discovery Player, two-year deal with options for the third and fourth years | |
| August 3, 2016 |  Luis Solignac | F | Colorado Rapids | Acquired in exchange for General Allocation Money |
Out
- Players selected in 2016 MLS SuperDraft, but ultimately not signed: midfielder Jack Harrison - traded to New York City FC, midfielder Vincent Mitchell and defender/midfielder Vincent Keller.
- Trialists released in the preseason: defender James Musa, midfielder Parker Maher, goalkeeper Zach Bennett, defender Benedikt Krug, defender Mauricio Pineda, goalkeeper Callum Irving, goalkeeper Matt Bersano and midfielder Christian Volesky.
Loans
In
Technical staff
Standings
Eastern Conference table
Overall table
Results summary
Results
Match results
Preseason
Kickoff times are in CSTSimple™ Invitational
| Team | |||||||||
| 1 | Chicago Fire | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 9 |
| 2 |  Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6 |
| 3 | Portland Timbers | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Minnesota United FC | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | -10 | 0 |
Major League Soccer
Kickoff times are in CDT, unless posted otherwiseU.S. Open Cup
The Chicago Fire entered the 2016 U.S. Open Cup with the rest of Major League Soccer in the fourth round.Kickoff times are in CDT
Stats
Leading scorers
Italics indicate player who departed the club during the season.Updated to match played on October 23, 2016.
Source:
Appearances and Goals
Goalkeeper stats
Source:National team participation
Four Fire players have been called up to play for their senior national teams during this season.| Players | Team | Competition | Opponent | Date | Goals | Minutes | Ref |
| Brandon Vincent | Friendly | February 5, 2016 | 0 | 45' | |||
| Matt Polster | Friendly | February 5, 2016 | 0 | unused sub | |||
| David Accam | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | March 24, 2016 | 0 | 0' | |||
| David Accam | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | March 27, 2016 | 0 | 0' | |||
| David Arshakyan | Friendly | August 31, 2016 | 0 | unused sub | |||
| David Accam | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | September 3, 2016 | 0 | Earned a start | |||
| David Arshakyan | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | September 4, 2016 | 0 | 70' | |||
| David Accam | Friendly | September 6, 2016 | 0 | 12' |
Recognition
MLS Goal of the Week
MLS Team of the Week
MLS All-Star Game
MLS 24 under 24
Chicago Fire midfielder Matt Polster was selected to Major League Soccer's "24 under 24" list, an annual ranking of the top players in the league under the age of 24.Team annual awards
Forward/midfielder David Accam was named the team's Most Valuable Player and Golden Boot winner for the second year in a row in both categories. In 24 league matches Accam scored nine goals and had five assists. Accam also had team-high 14 goals across all competitions of the season.In his first year with the club Johan Kappelhof was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Tied with Jonathan Campbell for a team-high 33 league appearances, Kappelhof made 85 clearances, 17 blocks and 113 interceptions during his first MLS campaign.
Goalkeeper Sean Johnson was chosen Section 8 Chicago Supporters' Player of the Year.
Kits
| Type | Shirt | Shorts | Socks | First appearance / Info |
| Home | Red | Red | Red | |
| Away | White | White | White |
Primary kit
The new primary kit for 2016 season was officially unveiled on January 25, 2016. The jersey features an all-red design with the return of the iconic white bar across the chest. The Chicago city flag embossed on the lower front for the jersey's jock tag.Secondary kit
According to the league's bi-annual rotation of kits the secondary kit carried over from the previous season.It was originally unveiled on March 2, 2015. The design and details were inspired by the City of Chicago flag.
Draft pick trades
Picks acquired:- 2016 MLS SuperDraft second round pick from D.C. United in exchange for forward Patrick Nyarko.
- 2016 MLS SuperDraft third round pick from New York Red Bulls in exchange for goalkeeper Kyle Reynish.
- 2017 MLS SuperDraft natural first round pick from Philadelphia Union in exchange for the top spot in the MLS Allocation Ranking Order.
- 2019 MLS SuperDraft natural third round pick from D.C. United in exchange for forward Kennedy Igboananike.
- 2016 MLS SuperDraft conditional pick to Los Angeles Galaxy in exchange for Greg Cochrane.
- 2016 MLS SuperDraft natural second round pick to Orlando City SC in exchange for Eric Gehrig.
- 2017 MLS SuperDraft natural second round pick to Columbus Crew SC in exchange for the Discovery Priority on Khaly Thiam.