# List of Sunderland A.F.C. managers

Sunderland Association Football Club was founded in September 1880 as Sunderland and District Teachers Association Football Club. After turning professional in 1886, the club appointed Tom Watson as their first manager, and under Watson the team won the Football League First Division three times in four seasons. The percentage of games won under Watson remains the highest of all time for a Sunderland manager. Watson left to manage Liverpool and was replaced by Robert Campbell, but the new manager failed to continue the success of his predecessor. The next three managers, Alex Mackie, Bob Kyle and Johnny Cochrane, each won the First Division title while at the club. Kyle's 817 games in charge, spread over 19 full seasons either side of the First World War, make him Sunderland's longest-serving manager. Cochrane led the club to their first FA Cup victory, beating Preston North End 3–1 in the 1937 final. The closest they had come in previous seasons was as losing finalists in 1913 under Kyle.
After Cochrane, no manager won a trophy until Bob Stokoe led the team to their second FA Cup with a 1–0 win over Leeds United in the 1973 FA Cup Final. Stokoe took Sunderland into European competition for the first time in their history, but they were knocked out in the second round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup by Sporting Clube de Portugal. Len Ashurst led Sunderland to their first League Cup final, which they lost 1–0 to Norwich City, but relegation brought him the sack at the end of the season. Under Lawrie McMenemy, Sunderland were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history. Following this, Denis Smith was named as manager, and saw the club back into the Second Division.
Peter Reid brought Sunderland to the Premier League for the first time in their history in the 1996–97 season, but they were relegated in their debut season. The team progressed as far as the Division One play-off final in 1998, drawing 4–4 after extra time before losing 7–6 on penalties, and went one step further the following season, winning promotion as champions with a record total, at that time, of 105 points. Still led by Reid, they went on to achieve their highest place finish in the Premier League, finishing seventh in two consecutive seasons, and narrowly missed out on a UEFA Cup place. In 2002–03, Sunderland had three different managers, with Reid, Howard Wilkinson and, towards the end of the season, Mick McCarthy; the club ended that season with a then record low total of 19 points. Under McCarthy, a third-place finish in the Championship earned Sunderland a place in the 2003–04 play-offs, only to lose to Crystal Palace in the semi-finals; in 2004–05, they were promoted as champions, clinching the title with a 2–1 win over West Ham. In March 2006, McCarthy was sacked in a season where Sunderland gained just 15 points, breaking their previous record, with former player Kevin Ball taking over as caretaker manager for the remaining games. Following a takeover of the club, incoming chairman Niall Quinn acted as manager until Roy Keane's appointment three weeks into the 2006–07 season. Keane went on to win the Championship title in his first season of management. After keeping the side in the Premier League, he resigned in December 2008 and Ricky Sbragia eventually assumed the role after a spell as caretaker. Sbragia resigned immediately after the final match of the 2008–09 season, when Sunderland had achieved survival in the Premier League. Wigan Athletic manager Steve Bruce was appointed as his successor in June 2009. Having spent two-and-a-half years as manager, Bruce was sacked on 30 November 2011. Martin O'Neill, a boyhood fan of the club, was appointed as manager on 3 December 2011. Sunderland's form soon took off, picking up 27 points in O'Neill's first 18 league games in charge, as well as reaching an FA Cup quarter-final. However, the team underperformed during the 2012–13 season, and on 30 March 2013, O'Neill was sacked. The following day on 31 March 2013, Paolo Di Canio was appointed on a 2+1⁄2-year contract. Di Canio was sacked less than six months later with Sunderland bottom of the Premier League.

## Managers

    As of 17 January 2025. Only professional, competitive matches are counted, including; League, FA Cup, League Cup and other cup competitions. Dates for earlier years are only months because of unclear statistics.
| Name | Nationality | From | To | M | W | D | L | Win % | Honours |
| – | | November 1880 | August 1889 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 066.7 | |
| Tom Watson | England | August 1889 | August 1896 | 191 | 119 | 28 | 44 | 062.3 | Football League First Division champions 1891–92, 1892–93, 1894–95 |
| Robert Campbell | Scotland | August 1896 | April 1899 | 103 | 41 | 22 | 40 | 039.8 | |
| Alex Mackie | Scotland | August 1899 | April 1905 | 214 | 104 | 46 | 64 | 048.6 | Football League First Division champions 1901–02, Sheriff of London Charity Shield champions 1902–03 |
| Bob Kyle | Northern Ireland | August 1905 | May 1928 | 817 | 371 | 155 | 291 | 045.4 | Football League First Division champions 1912–13 |
| Johnny Cochrane | Scotland | June 1928 | March 1939 | 500 | 212 | 122 | 166 | 42.4 | Football League First Division champions 1935–36, FA Cup winners 1936–37 |
| – | | March 1939 | March 1939 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 040.0 | |
| Bill Murray | Scotland | April 1939 | June 1957 | 512 | 186 | 140 | 186 | 036.3 | |
| Alan Brown | England | August 1957 | July 1964 | 332 | 138 | 88 | 106 | 041.6 | |
| – | | August 1964 | November 1964 | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 016.7 | |
| George Hardwick (caretaker) | England | November 1964 | April 1965 | 29 | 14 | 3 | 12 | 048.3 | |
| Ian McColl | Scotland | August 1965 | February 1968 | 124 | 39 | 27 | 58 | 031.5 | |
| Alan Brown | England | February 1968 | November 1972 | 219 | 63 | 68 | 88 | 028.8 | |
| Billy Elliott (caretaker) | England | November 1972 | November 1972 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 000.0 | |
| Bob Stokoe | England | 23 November 1972 | 18 October 1976 | 197 | 92 | 49 | 56 | 046.7 | FA Cup winners 1972–73, Football League Second Division champions 1975–76 |
| Ian MacFarlane (caretaker) | Scotland | 18 October 1976 | 1 December 1976 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 028.6 | |
| Jimmy Adamson | England | 1 December 1976 | 25 October 1978 | 88 | 29 | 28 | 31 | 033.0 | |
| David Merrington (caretaker) | England | 25 October 1978 | 13 December 1978 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 050.0 | |
| Billy Elliott | England | 13 December 1978 | 24 May 1979 | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 053.8 | |
| Ken Knighton | England | 7 June 1979 | 1 April 1981 | 94 | 34 | 25 | 35 | 036.2 | |
| Mick Docherty (caretaker) | England | 1 April 1981 | 1 June 1981 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 050.0 | |
| Alan Durban | Wales | 1 June 1981 | 2 March 1984 | 130 | 37 | 40 | 53 | 028.5 | |
| Pop Robson (caretaker) | England | 2 March 1984 | 4 March 1984 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 000.0 | |
| Len Ashurst | England | 4 March 1984 | 23 May 1985 | 66 | 21 | 16 | 29 | 031.8 | |
| Lawrie McMenemy | England | 8 June 1985 | 16 April 1987 | 90 | 27 | 24 | 39 | 030.0 | |
| Bob Stokoe (caretaker) | England | 16 April 1987 | 9 June 1987 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 033.3 | |
| Denis Smith | England | 9 June 1987 | 30 December 1991 | 238 | 91 | 64 | 83 | 038.2 | Football League Third Division champions 1987–88 |
| Malcolm Crosby | England | 30 December 1991 | 28 January 1993 | 60 | 21 | 15 | 24 | 035.0 | |
| Terry Butcher | England | 29 January 1993 | 26 November 1993 | 45 | 14 | 8 | 23 | 031.1 | |
| Mick Buxton | England | 26 November 1993 | 29 March 1995 | 76 | 25 | 24 | 27 | 032.9 | |
| Peter Reid | England | 29 March 1995 | 7 October 2002 | 353 | 159 | 95 | 99 | 045.0 | Football League First Division champions 1995–96, 1998–99 |
| Howard Wilkinson | England | 10 October 2002 | 10 March 2003 | 27 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 014.8 | |
| Mick McCarthy | Ireland | 12 March 2003 | 6 March 2006 | 147 | 63 | 26 | 58 | 042.9 | Football League Championship champions 2004–05 |
| Kevin Ball (caretaker) | England | 7 March 2006 | 31 May 2006 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 010.0 | |
| Niall Quinn | Ireland | 25 July 2006 | 30 August 2006 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 016.7 | |
| Roy Keane | Ireland | 30 August 2006 | 4 December 2008 | 100 | 42 | 17 | 41 | 042.0 | Football League Championship champions 2006–07 |
| Ricky Sbragia | Scotland | 4 December 2008 | 24 May 2009 | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 023.1 | |
| Steve Bruce | England | 3 June 2009 | 30 November 2011 | 98 | 29 | 28 | 41 | 029.6 | |
| Eric Black (caretaker) | Scotland | 30 November 2011 | 3 December 2011 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000.0 | |
| Martin O'Neill | Northern Ireland | 3 December 2011 | 30 March 2013 | 54 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 035.2 | |
| Paolo Di Canio | Italy | 31 March 2013 | 22 September 2013 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 023.1 | |
| Kevin Ball (caretaker) | England | 22 September 2013 | 8 October 2013 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 033.3 | |
| Gus Poyet | Uruguay | 8 October 2013 | 16 March 2015 | 75 | 23 | 22 | 30 | 030.7 | |
| Dick Advocaat | Netherlands | 17 March 2015 | 4 October 2015 | 19 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 021.1 | |
| Sam Allardyce | England | 9 October 2015 | 22 July 2016 | 31 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 029.0 | |
| David Moyes | Scotland | 23 July 2016 | 22 May 2017 | 43 | 8 | 7 | 28 | 018.6 | |
| Simon Grayson | England | 29 June 2017 | 31 October 2017 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 016.7 | |
| Robbie Stockdale (caretaker) Billy McKinlay (caretaker) | Scotland Scotland | 31 October 2017 | 19 November 2017 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 000.0 | |
| Chris Coleman | Wales | 19 November 2017 | 29 April 2018 | 29 | 5 | 8 | 16 | 017.2 | |
| Robbie Stockdale (caretaker) | Scotland | 29 April 2018 | 25 May 2018 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 | |
| Jack Ross | Scotland | 25 May 2018 | 8 October 2019 | 75 | 38 | 27 | 10 | 050.7 | |
| James Fowler (caretaker) | Scotland | 8 October 2019 | 17 October 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | !— | |
| Phil Parkinson | England | 17 October 2019 | 29 November 2020 | 31 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 035.5 | |
| Andrew Taylor (caretaker) | England | 30 November 2020 | 5 December 2020 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 000.0 | |
| Lee Johnson | England | 5 December 2020 | 30 January 2022 | 78 | 40 | 20 | 18 | 051.3 | EFL Trophy champions 2020-21 |
| Mike Dodds (caretaker) | England | 2 February 2022 | 11 February 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 000.0 | |
| Alex Neil | Scotland | 11 February 2022 | 28 August 2022 | 19 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 057.9 | Football League One play-offs: 2022 |
| Martin Canning (caretaker) | Scotland | 26 August 2022 | 30 August 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000.0 | |
| Tony Mowbray | England | 30 August 2022 | 4 December 2023 | 65 | 26 | 18 | 21 | 040.0 | 2023 Championship play-offs |
| Mike Dodds (caretaker) | England | 4 December 2023 | 18 December 2023 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 066.7 | |
| Michael Beale | England | 18 December 2023 | 19 February 2024 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 033.3 | |
| Mike Dodds (caretaker) | England | 19 February 2024 | 4 May 2024 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 015.4 | |
| Régis Le Bris | France | 1 July 2024 | present | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 050.0 | |