The announcement was made at a press conference in Zurich on Monday morning following months of negotiations.

“Sean (Simpson) decided not to sign a new contract with us,” Swiss Ice Hockey Federation President Marc Furrer opened the press conference. “We would have liked to re-sign with him and I think we offered a very good contract. We have had four good years with Sean.”

“It was a very difficult decision. I enjoyed my time with the national team. It was a dream job, one of the best jobs in the world,” Simpson said.

“Unfortunately it didn’t come to a solution but sometimes a decision goes another way. I had my vision and they had theirs and it didn’t fit.”

Simpson already signed a contract with a club team but didn’t want to say for which club and in which league he will be coaching.

“Out of respect to the club it won’t be announced until the end of the season. That can take anything between six weeks and there months,” he said, leaving room for speculation about a return to North America.

Simpson took over the team in April 2010 from Ralph Krueger and led the Swiss to a historic silver medal win at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. However, last month the team was less successful finishing the 2014 Olympics Winter Games in Sochi in ninth place.

The federation has not signed a new coach yet. The search will start now.

“We will think about a successor very carefully and intensively,” Furrer said. “I’m optimistic that we’ll find a good solution. The goal must be to start a new, good era with a new national coach.”