How Sunderland's head coach search will work, who'll be in contention and who'll be involved explained

After another dramatic day on Wearside, Sunderland are looking for another head coach.

So what will the actual process look like, who will be in contention and can supporters expect the club to get it right after Michael Beale's troubled tenure? We take a look at all the key questions...

What happens next?

Sunderland moved quickly to confirm that Mike Dodds will lead the team until the end of the season. While things in football can change very quickly, that all but rules out a swift appointment of a head coach currently out of work, with Steve Cooper and Paul Heckingbottom two of the names mentioned by many supporters in the moments following Michael Beale’s departure.

Sunderland believe Dodds has the respect of the dressing room and showed his tactical acumen during his spell in charge earlier this season, and as such is well placed to manage the closing stages of the season. Fundamentally, they believe that this will give them the time and space they require to run a thorough process that can lead to the appointment of the right long-term candidate in the summer, hopefully ushering in a period of relative stability after what has been a chaotic few months for the club.

What will the process look like? 

As with player recruitment, Sunderland’s search for potential head coach candidates never really stops. They have a database of coaches that they are constantly reviewing and refreshing, flagging up candidates who are performing well against their key metrics. These will include things like an attacking playing style, a willingness to play youngsters and a track record of overperforming relative to budget. 

As happens just before a transfer window, they will then refine their search when it is time to appoint a new head coach and consider the other factors now in play. So for example, Alex Neil’s excellent play-off record and habit of quickly improving teams after his appointment pushed him closer to the front of the pack following Lee Johnson’s departure. Similarly, Tony Mowbray’s extensive Championship experience worked strongly in his favour following Neil’s fairly sudden exit for Stoke City. Sunderland will also say that for all your planning and due diligence, you can sometimes be surprised by the availability of a candidate and so you have to keep an open mind heading into the process. 

That process involves numerous stages of interviews, which are obviously led by Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman. He will be joined initially by other key staff members, who can put questions to candidates regarding their suitability for the wider strategy in place at the club. Head of coaching Stuart English, head of recruitment Stuart Harvey and academy manager Robin Nicholls are obvious potential choices, while a member of the board may also join. Louis-Dreyfus will likely join at the latter stages of the process, when the candidates are narrowed to the leading contenders. 

Part of the idea of the process is that you get a better understanding of a wide range of candidates, some who you think are not the right choice for now but could be in the future. In this case, Sunderland are certain to revisit some of the contenders for the role in December - many of whom did not progress because it was clear their availability was an impossible hurdle to clear. That may well be one of the key reasons why Dodds takes charge until the end of the season, rather than trying to make a new permanent appointment now.

Who will then make the final decision?

In theory, Speakman makes his recommendation to the board and the decision is then ratified. The reality of football is that while his opinion is the most important, the decisions are ultimately made by the ownership group and as chairman and majority shareholder, Louis-Dreyfus.

The appointment of Neil is the perfect example of how things can become a little muddled. If, for example, some members of an ownership group are enticed by the idea of appointing a high-profile figure and previously successful manager of the club, then it can lead to a number of dissenting opinions and present a chaotic process to the outside world.

Louis-Dreyfus is now just about the sole decision-maker and that does simplify the process to an extent, and it is he who is now ultimately accountable for these calls. That applies as much to the dismissal of managers as their hiring.

Who will be in contention and could Mike Dodds emerge as a potential contender?

Sunderland will undoubtedly revisit some of those they considered in December but felt they would not be able to hire at that stage of the season, while others who will become available in the summer will now be on the radar. 

What they are looking for hasn’t changed, an ‘elite’ coach with modern methods on the training pitch. Perhaps, though, the experience with Beale underlines some of the other attributes that are required for managing a club of this size and where the scrutiny is so great. 

Dodds could undoubtedly come into contention. He is highly rated behind the scenes at Sunderland and in promoting him to Beale’s assistant, they made clear they see him as a future head coach at some stage. He almost landed a longer interim stint in December, but in the end Sunderland decided that they didn’t want to risk losing him in the long run should the short-term not go so well. Dodds’ feeling at the time was also that it might be a little soon. 

As such, an external appointment at this stage remains the most likely course of action but Dodds will certainly be in their thinking.

After what happened with Michael Beale, can we trust Sunderland to get it right?

The question Sunderland supporters are asking right now and it’s a fair one. Sunderland talk a lot about their evidence-based approach but Beale’s lack of suitability for the role raises major questions over the process. His style of play jarred with the club’s demand for front-foot, attacking football and his coaching methods didn’t lead to an uptick in performances or real improvements in many of Sunderland’s younger players - albeit the time he actually had to work with them on the training pitch was short.

The timing of Mowbray’s dismissal and the process that followed underlined perhaps the way in which decision making at the club isn’t always as considered as it should be, something perhaps also reflected in that Roy Keane saga a couple of years back.

Sunderland would argue that while not overwhelmingly popular appointments at the time, both Neil and Mowbray’s successes showed their process is fundamentally sound. 

Beale’s appointment proved to be a huge misstep and raises the pressure significantly on this next decision, particularly as the club now have the time and space to make a considered decision. Crucially, there should also be no reason for them not to land whoever they think is the best candidate for the job.

The summer is a pivotal moment in this sporting project.