Ex-Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers striker lands new Huddersfield Town coaching role
Former Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers striker Jon Stead has taken on a new coaching role at Huddersfield Town.
Former Sunderland striker Jon Stead has landed an assistant coaching role at Huddersfield Town following Martin Drury’s appointment as permanent head coach.
Huddersfield confirmed Drury as their new full-time boss after the conclusion of the League One season, with Stead set to form part of his coaching staff. The move continues Stead’s return to his hometown club, having previously joined the Terriers’ first-team coaching set-up earlier this year. Stead had been working at Huddersfield after Liam Manning’s appointment in January 2026 and will now remain involved as Drury takes the club forward on a permanent basis.
The 43-year-old had a brief spell at Sunderland as a player after joining from Blackburn Rovers in 2005. He made 40 appearances for the Black Cats, scoring twice, with his first Sunderland goal coming against Everton at Goodison Park in April 2006. His second came in a defeat at Southend United in August 2006.
Stead later left Sunderland for Sheffield United in January 2007 after a loan spell at Derby County. He went on to enjoy a long playing career that also included spells with Ipswich Town, Bristol City, Notts County, Harrogate Town and two stints at Huddersfield.
He originally came through Huddersfield’s academy and made his senior debut for the club as a teenager in 2002. His breakthrough came during the 2003-04 season, when he scored 18 goals before earning a move to Premier League side Blackburn Rovers.
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Stead retired from professional football in 2021 after making more than 700 senior appearances and scoring 165 goals across his career. He then moved into coaching, taking up assistant roles with Hartford Athletic, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Barnsley and Bristol Rovers before returning to Huddersfield.
His latest role marks another step in his coaching career and keeps him involved with a club that holds deep personal meaning. Stead is a Huddersfield academy graduate, a former Terriers striker and a boyhood supporter, making his continued presence on the coaching staff a popular appointment at the John Smith’s Stadium. Former Sunderland man Lynden Gooch is still on the books at the League One club and will work under Stead next season should he remain at the club this summer.