The process of sacking a manager, or head coach (find out the difference between the two here), is never easy but when it comes to finding a replacement, things get even more complicated. Last week, we delved into what happens when a club decides to part ways with their boss and events tend to occur in a streamlined fashion from start to finish. When they start to look for a new hire, it gets a bit less formulaic.
No two hiring processes are ever identical, but here is a general idea of how the timeline works. Look at it as a “best practice” guide — though in the crazy world of football things rarely turn out as planned.
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Communicate the departure and start the search
Once the decision has been taken to part company with a head coach — the ordeal (as described in the previous article) usually runs late into the night — the club’s communication team are first out of the traps to issue a statement which ideally reflects an amicable, orderly departure. Before “SEND” has been pressed, all key staff should be informed as you don’t want them hearing about it from the newspapers or social media.
At this point those in charge of leading the search for a replacement — depending on the club’s structure this could be either the sporting director, chief executive, owner or chairman — will have already put the wheels in motion. Time is usually of the essence, especially when a new appointment is needed mid-season, and despite it being one of the most important decisions a club can make, the procedure is almost exclusively started off in a rush.
While there’s almost always some sort of selection process to determine the right person for the job, the need for haste certainly raises the pressure and the element of risk involved.
Potential targets may have been identified well in advance, but the announcement of a vacant position still attracts a wealth of incoming applications from agents or even candidates reaching out directly (from personal experience the record timing of an incoming inquiry is six minutes after the sacking announcement!)
Managerial jobs in football come up so infrequently that the availability of an attractive post leaves out-of-work coaches with little option but to be proactive. At the highest level, the likelihood of someone asking early, or being actively promoted by an agent, eventually landing the job is slim. As much as it’s always worth sifting through the inbox to see which names are interested, top clubs invariably have a pre-determined shortlist of clearly identified candidates.
The profile of the targets would obviously vary according to the club’s situation: if you’re fighting relegation in the second part of the season the lure of hiring an experienced coach with a track record of dealing with pressure is tempting, whereas an end-of-season sacking may allow the search to be steered towards a more long-term solution.
In most cases, however, the search is driven by a clear strategical idea (playing style, principles) — with the long-term development of the club in mind. Manchester City‘s hiring of Pep Guardiola and Arsenal bringing in Mikel Arteta are two good examples here where that has worked well.
Though the days following a sacking can appear quiet from the outside, they are arguably the busiest and most challenging in the career of a sporting director — even the chaotic heights of a busy transfer window can appear tranquil in comparison. Don’t forget that while the search is happening, the sporting director is also expected to support the backroom staff who have taken over in the interim and, amid the frenzy of an ongoing season with games coming fast and result still required, there’s no time to waste.
Make first contact
The support staff can deal with sifting through the incoming CVs but administering the first contact with the names on the shortlist is managed first-hand by the sporting director (or, in certain cases, the CEO.)
Despite the race against time, some patience here might pay off. The top names in the business understandably play hard to get but, from a negotiation viewpoint, letting a coach’s agent make the first move is not a disadvantage. You don’t want to appear too keen and having options obviously strengthens your position.
Meetings and interviews — with no strings attached — have to be arranged and that entails meticulous planning and coordination. You’d likely need to find an appropriate location for the staging of multiple interviews, with a hotel suite or a discrete meeting room being common venues. Tactics are also required to try and prevent the candidates running into each other in the lobby (which has happened many times), such as making sure the club are responsible for the transport to the venue or having different entrances available.
