Thirteen years after Sir Alex Ferguson retired, the men who tried to replace him have scattered across European football and their fortunes could hardly be more varied. One is coaching Real Madrid again. One is rebuilding Everton for a second time. Another is trying to revive AC Milan. Three are out of the dugout: one in a boardroom, one retired and one working as an analyst. And the man currently in the Old Trafford hot seat is discovering how quickly goodwill evaporates at Manchester United.
This piece looks at where each of the seven permanent post-Ferguson managers, plus interim bosses Ralf Rangnick and Ruud van Nistelrooy, stands as of mid-October 2026 and how they are faring. A few details have shifted since this summer, notably on the Netherlands job and Solskjær’s current role and those are reflected below.
David moyes: Everton’s steadying hand, with a contract clock ticking
Moyes is manager of Everton and he is doing some of the best work of his career. He returned in January 2025 on a two-and-a-half-year deal to replace the sacked Sean Dyche, inheriting a side sitting 16th and just one point above the relegation zone. He kept them up, oversaw the move from Goodison Park to the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock and by spring 2026 had them chasing European places, prompting reports that the Friedkin Group wanted to extend his deal.
That extension has not materialised. His contract runs to summer 2027 and the start to 2026–27 has been strong: Everton are fifth and unbeaten, with two wins and four draws (10 points) from their first six Premier League games. The complication is above him. The Friedkin Group is weighing its options for the club and Moyes has said publicly what he wants from any new owners.
Into that uncertainty has come Celtic, where Moyes began his playing career. Journalist Alan Nixon reports the Scottish champions are monitoring him as a possible successor to Martin O’Neill, though no approach has been reported. For now, the 63-year-old is a manager in form whose next move depends as much on Everton’s boardroom as on results.
Louis Van Gaal: Willing, but passed over
Van Gaal remains out of full-time management and the most recent chance of a comeback has already gone. After Ronald Koeman resigned following the Netherlands’ round-of-32 World Cup exit to Morocco, the now 75-year-old told Voetbal International he would not rule out a fourth spell as national coach. He also said no one at the KNVB had contacted him and expressed surprise at how few candidates seemed keen on the role.
Reports at the time suggested his health had improved after his well-publicised treatment for prostate cancer and that he felt ready for a return without actively chasing one. The federation went elsewhere. On 12 August, the KNVB appointed Xavi Hernández on a deal through the 2030 World Cup, explicitly passing over Van Gaal and Jong Oranje coach Michael Reiziger.
So Van Gaal is, in effect, a retired elder statesman who would answer the phone if it rang. His remark that any future coaching work probably wouldn’t be in the Netherlands suggests he knows that particular door has closed.
José mourinho: Back at the Bernabéu
Mourinho is head coach of Real Madrid for a second time, the most dramatic comeback of the group. Madrid announced on 11 June 2026 that he would return on a three-season contract to 30 June 2029, paying Benfica a €15 million release clause; he started work on 13 July. The deal was tied to Florentino Pérez winning re-election, which he did and Mourinho replaced Álvaro Arbeloa after a trophyless 2025–26.
The road back to Madrid was long. After United sacked him in December 2018, Mourinho spent almost a year out before taking over Tottenham in November 2019. He led Spurs to the 2021 League Cup final but was dismissed days before it was played. At Roma, he won the inaugural Europa Conference League in 2022 and reached the 2023 Europa League final, before being sacked in January 2024. He moved to Fenerbahçe in June 2024, left in August 2025 after a Champions League qualifying defeat to Benfica and within weeks was hired by Benfica themselves, finishing third in the Primeira Liga.
The early returns are mixed but respectable. Madrid strengthened heavily, adding Bernardo Silva, Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konaté, Denzel Dumfries, Yan Diomande and Carlos Espí. After a 1–0 win over Villarreal on 10 October, they are fourth in La Liga with 18 points from eight games (six wins, two defeats, to Real Betis and Atlético Madrid), six points behind leaders Barcelona, who have won all eight and one behind second-placed Atlético. In Europe it is going better: a chaotic 4–3 win at Roma on 14 October made it two wins from two in the Champions League.
The defining test arrives on 25 October at Camp Nou. Mourinho’s first Madrid spell was shaped by his rivalry with Barcelona; his second may be too and he will face Barcelona without Vinícius Júnior, banned for four games after a red card against Villarreal.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær: Watching from the stands
Solskjær is out of club management and working as a technical observer for UEFA, a match-analysis role rather than a seat on its Executive Committee. His return to the dugout at Beşiktaş, which began in January 2025, lasted only about eight months before he was dismissed in August 2025.
His name has not gone quiet. When Kieran McKenna, once part of his Old Trafford staff, left Ipswich Town in June 2026, Solskjær briefly became the bookmakers’ favourite to replace him. He had been spotted at several Ipswich games, often alongside Michael Carrick. He was also reportedly considered by United in January 2026 as a caretaker after Amorim’s exit, before the club chose Carrick.
There has been no reported appointment from either link. At 53, Solskjær remains well connected and evidently still wanted, but for now he is analysing football rather than managing it.
Erik ten hag: Home to Twente, upstairs
Ten Hag is technical director of FC Twente, a step away from coaching after the shortest spell of his career. Bayer Leverkusen hired him in May 2025 and dismissed him in September after just three games, two of them in the Bundesliga, a record in Germany.
Twente announced the appointment on 6 January 2026. He joined on 1 February to work alongside retiring director Jan Streuer, then took full charge on 1 July, on a contract to mid-2028. It is a homecoming: he grew up near Enschede, played 13 seasons for the club across three spells and coached its academy.
The move looks deliberate rather than desperate. He turned down Ajax in November 2025 and, according to Reuters, also ruled himself out of the Netherlands job this summer. Remember too that he left United with two trophies, the 2023 League Cup and the 2024 FA Cup, more than any of his successors so far. On the pitch, Twente are fourth in the Eredivisie with 17 points from eight games under head coach John van den Brom, including a 3–2 win over PSV.
Ruben Amorim: Rebuilding at AC Milan
Amorim is head coach of AC Milan. The club appointed him on 16 June 2026 on a two-year deal, five months after United dismissed him following a 1–1 draw at Leeds. Milan had sacked Massimiliano Allegri after finishing fifth and missing out on the Champions League; Amorim called coaching the club a lifelong ambition.
The start was shaky. Milan went winless in preseason, including a 3–0 defeat to Chelsea and Corriere dello Sport suggested he could be among the first Serie A coaches sacked. His United record of 24 wins in 63 games was quickly recalled. The club still backed him heavily, breaking its transfer record to sign Gonçalo Ramos from Paris Saint-Germain.
Since the league began, results have steadied. Milan are fifth in Serie A, unbeaten after six games with three wins, three draws and 12 points, four behind leaders Inter and Lazio. Too many of those draws still rankle: after the 1–1 at Sassuolo on 11 October, Amorim complained openly about points thrown away. His Sporting record of two Portuguese titles, two League Cups and a Super Cup explains why Milan took the gamble.
Michael Carrick: From saviour to scrutiny in five months
Carrick is United’s head coach and he is under real pressure for the first time. Appointed interim on 13 January 2026, he transformed the season, beating Manchester City and Arsenal in his first two games and steering United to third place. That earned him the job permanently in May on a two-year contract.
The 2026–27 campaign has gone the other way. United are 13th with six points from six games: one win, three draws and two defeats. The only league win came against newly promoted Ipswich. A 3–2 home collapse against Brighton in September saw him booed off and on 10 October United could only draw 1–1 with a ten-man Tottenham side who were bottom of the table.
The board is reported to be backing him for now, though Eddie Howe and Antonio Conte are already being mentioned as alternatives. Injuries, including to Benjamin Šeško, have not helped. Away games at Leeds on 18 October and Como in the Champions League on 21 October now carry unusual weight.
Ralf Rangnick: The interim who found his level with Austria
Rangnick is head coach of Austria and arguably the most successful of United’s departed bosses since leaving. He took interim charge in December 2021 after Solskjær’s sacking, with a two-year consultancy role meant to follow. It did not work: United finished sixth on 58 points, then their lowest Premier League total and the consultancy was quietly dropped when he left in 2022.
Austria has been a far better fit. He topped a Euro 2024 group containing France and the Netherlands, turned down Bayern Munich that spring and led Austria to their first World Cup since 1998. There they reached the knockout stage for the first time since 1954, beating Jordan 3–1 before losing 3–0 to Spain in the round of 32. Days before the tournament, he extended his contract to 2028, ending speculation about a move to AC Milan.
Ruud van Nistelrooy: Interim, then Leicester, now Oranje
Van Nistelrooy is assistant coach of the Netherlands. He came to Old Trafford in summer 2024 as Ten Hag’s assistant and took interim charge after Ten Hag’s sacking that October. His four games brought three wins and a draw, but Amorim’s arrival meant there was no role for him and he left.
Leicester hired him weeks later. It went badly: five wins in 27 games, relegation and dismissal in June 2025. After seven months out, he joined Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands staff in February 2026 for the World Cup, where Oranje lost to Morocco on penalties in the round of 32. Koeman resigned, but new coach Xavi kept Van Nistelrooy on as his second coach.
At a glance: standings and honours
| Manager | Current Role | League Position (15 Oct 2026) | Major Coaching Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| José Mourinho | Real Madrid head coach | 4th in La Liga, 18 pts from 8; 2 wins from 2 in Champions League | 2 Champions Leagues (Porto, Inter); league titles in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain; UEFA Cup (Porto); Europa League (Man Utd); Conference League (Roma) |
| David Moyes | Everton manager | 5th in Premier League, 10 pts from 6, unbeaten | Europa Conference League (West Ham, 2023); FA Cup final (Everton, 2009) |
| Erik ten Hag | FC Twente technical director | Twente 4th in Eredivisie, 17 pts from 8 | 3 Eredivisie titles (Ajax); League Cup 2023 and FA Cup 2024 (Man Utd) |
| Ruben Amorim | AC Milan head coach | 5th in Serie A, 12 pts from 6, unbeaten | 2 Portuguese titles, 2 League Cups, Super Cup (Sporting); Europa League final 2025 (Man Utd) |
| Michael Carrick | Manchester United head coach | 13th in Premier League, 6 pts from 6 | 3rd-place finish with United, 2025–26 |
| Ralf Rangnick | Austria head coach | National team; World Cup 2026 round of 32 | DFB-Pokal 2011 (Schalke); Euro 2024 group winners and World Cup 2026 qualification (Austria) |
| Ruud van Nistelrooy | Netherlands assistant coach | National team; World Cup 2026 round of 32 | KNVB Cup 2023 (PSV) |
| Louis van Gaal | Retired | — | Champions League 1995 (Ajax); league titles in the Netherlands, Spain and Germany; FA Cup 2016 (Man Utd); World Cup 3rd place 2014 |
| Ole Gunnar Solskjær | UEFA technical observer | — | 2 Norwegian titles and a cup (Molde); Europa League final 2021 (Man Utd) |
The pattern is striking. Of the six men who have left Old Trafford since Ferguson, Moyes and Mourinho have rebuilt their reputations in the dugout and Amorim is trying to do the same at Milan, while Ten Hag has moved upstairs and Van Gaal and Solskjær are, for different reasons, on the outside. Carrick’s challenge is to avoid becoming the seventh entry on that list. The next fortnight will say a lot about whether he can.
