Next Sunderland manager: How the process works and Kristjaan Speakman, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus roles explained

Tony Mowbray's departure on Monday night means that Sunderland are looking for their fourth head coach of the Kyril Louis-Dreyfus era, but the reality of their new way of working means that process never really stops.

Sunderland, led by sporting director Kristjaan Speakman, don't see the head coach role as fundamentally different to any of the positions on the pitch. Their revamped scouting operation (which barely existed before their arrival) is through both traditional scouting and data-led methods, constantly scouring the world to try and unearth potential future acquisitions. When a transfer window approaches, they then drill down into exactly which positions they need to recruit in the here and how, and look to their longer-term targets to see who fits the bill.

It's the same process with a head coach. Sunderland will have been extensively tracking numerous head coaches throughout Mowbray's tenure

That sounds harsh and disrespectful, and of course it is to a large extent. The leaking of the news that Sunderland were assessing the merits of now Nice head coach Francesco Farioli in April drove a significant wedge between Mowbray and the club, arguably the start of a long goodbye that ended on Monday night. It's also how just about every top-tier club operates and even Mowbray himself acknowledged this on multiple occasions - noting that this background work was the very reason he landed the job so quickly after Alex Neil's departure.

What we don't know right now is whether this will be a similarly swift process, or a longer one as was the case when Lee Johnson departed.

Mowbray, for what it's worth, was identified as a potentially ideal candidate in that window but it was clear that he would not be leaving Blackburn Rovers. During that process, there was understandable criticism aimed at the club for the time they were taking even as results on the pitch continued to worsen - destroying any hopes of the top two and even jeopardising hopes of the top six.

Speakman's counter argument, which he spelled out after the eventual appointment of Alex Neil, was that this was an utterly vital part of the long-term success of the club. It was the new regime's first opportunity to speak to potential candidates and talented head coaches they had already identified, speeding up the process in the future. As an example, one of the coaches they discussed at that time is believed to be Rob Edwards, then in his first season at Forest Green and now in the Premier League at Luton Town.

Read Phil Smith's analysis on Tony Mowbray's shock departure

Sunderland felt some of the people they spoke to then were possible candidates for the future, and what happens in the interim is that they refine that list as they go - establishing new potential targets and probably seeing some drop off the radar. Coaches will be identified because they continously hit key performance indicators in their other jobs, this of course includes results but many other factors such as the playing style and the exposure they give young players.

There is of course some level of flexibility to the process, as some excellent candidates may become unexpectedly available or put themselves forward, but the reality is that Speakman will almost certainly now be looking to target some of the coaches he has already identified from his database.

Whether there is already a preferred candidate, and that is what we do not know at this stage, will define what happens next and how quickly the appointment will be made.

Given that Mowbray was identified as the preferred candidate almost immediately following Alex Neil's departure, the appointment was wrapped up in a matter of days. Given the schedule that lies immediately ahead for Sunderland, there is an obvious need to move swiftly.

If it is the case that they are selecting from a shortlist of candidates, then they will soon look to move into the interview process. That would be led by Kristjaan Speakman, but there will be a panel featuring other figures from across the club. On previous occasions, figures such as head of coaching Stuart English and non-executive director David Jones have sat on an interview panel, with academy manager Robin Nicholls and head of recruitment Stuart Harvey obvious potential candidates. A decision will then be made as to whether to proceed with a preferred candidate, or whether to move onto another round of interviews with a smaller pool of candidates. There will also be an extensive process of referencing for any of the candidates who make these final stages, though much of this will have been done in Speakman's initial background work.

The final step will be for Speakman to make his recommendation to the board and chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus. Louis-Dreyfus will leave the handling of the process to Speakman, though if there is an interview process he will likely join at the latter stages. He would be highly unlikely not to act on Speakman's recommendation, but it is ultimately the club chairman who decides on Sunderland's next steps - as he ultimately does will all key matters. Advanced negotiations will then begin to finalise the appointment, though realistically by this stage both parties will have a good sense of the terms and will have all but reached an agreement through those preliminary talks.

In the interim, Mike Dodds will lead training and preparations for West Brom's visit. Dodds and fellow first-team Michael Proctor had a chastening experience in their previous interim spell but both are more experienced now - and Mowbray leaned heavily on them in terms of the tactics and the training and preparations for games. The club have a huge amount of faith in Dodds, who works closely and effectively with much of the first-team squad. U21s boss Graeme Murty is another experienced figure behind the scenes who could be called upon in some capacity this week.

So now, all eyes wait to see what happens next - and just how quickly Sunderland are ready to move.