The Teessiders have been inundated with expressions of interest since Michael Carrick was dismissed last week, and have now spoken to a number of candidates.
That has enabled them to rule some potential contenders out of the running, with Rob Edwards, Steve Cooper and Danny Rohl now understood to be the leading options to take over at the Riverside.
Steven Gerrard, Marti Cifuentes and Gary O’Neil are not believed to be in the running for the head-coach position despite having been touted as serious contenders in the last week.
Final interviews are expected to take place in the next few days, with an appointment anticipated at either the end of this week or the start of next week. That will give the new boss more than three weeks in which to bed in before Boro’s senior players start returning to Rockliffe Park for the start of pre-season training.
Edwards was a leading contender when Carrick was appointed almost three years ago, and the 42-year-old has bolstered his reputation significantly since then thanks to his achievements with Luton Town.
Having previously worked in the England set-up with the FA and led both Forest Green Rovers and Watford, Edwards was appointed as Luton boss in November 2022. Despite taking over at a club that were being strongly tipped for relegation at the start of the 2022-23 season, Edwards led the Hatters to a remarkable promotion success that saw his side finish third in the Championship before beating both Sunderland and Coventry City in the play-offs.
Luton entered the Premier League with the smallest budget in the top-flight, but Edwards presided over a hugely-creditable campaign in which his side were regularly praised for their adventurous front-foot approach and strong team spirit. Luton’s survival fight went down to the last month of the campaign, but they were eventually relegated in 18th position.
Last season proved more of a struggle, with the Hatters struggling to reacclimatise to life back in the Championship. Edwards left Luton by mutual consent in January, and while his side were not in the bottom three when he parted company, they were eventually relegated on the final day of the season.
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He is also understood to feature on Bristol City’s managerial wish-list as the Ashton Gate club search for their own new boss following the departure of Liam Manning, who left to take over at Norwich City.
Like Edwards, Cooper also has a promotion from the Championship on his CV thanks to his efforts with Nottingham Forest. Another former FA employee who previously led representative sides, Cooper took over a Forest side sitting at the foot of the Championship when he was appointed at the City Ground in September 2021.
However, he oversaw an immediate turnaround that saw his players embrace a dynamic, front-foot playing style and after finishing in a play-off place, Forest were promoted when they beat Huddersfield Town in the play-off final.
Cooper’s side spent most of the following season battling against relegation, but while they eventually secured Premier League survival in the final month of the season, the 45-year-old was dismissed the following December with his side sitting in 17th position in the table.
He took over at Leicester last summer following the Foxes’ promotion to the top-flight, but was sacked in November after winning just two of his opening 12 league games. Leicester were eventually relegated under his successor, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Rohl has never managed outside the Championship in England, but while he might not have won promotion with Sheffield Wednesday, the 36-year-old has been widely praised for the quality of his work at Hillsborough given the Owls’ ongoing financial issues.
A former coach at RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and as part of the German national set-up, Rohl took charge at Wednesday in October 2023, becoming the youngest boss in the EFL. He successfully guided his side to Championship safety in the 2023-24 season, despite having inherited a team sitting in the bottom three, and secured a 12th-place finish last term despite his players and staff not being paid on two separate occasions.
Wednesday are currently under a transfer embargo because of non-payment of players, meaning Rohl appears to be seeking an exit strategy this summer. It has been reported that his contract at Hillsborough contains a compensation clause that would leave Boro needing to pay up to £5m to secure his services. However, given Wednesday’s ongoing financial problems, which have resulted in charges from the EFL, it is far from clear whether the Teessiders would actually have pay that money.
Boro are not the only club currently interested in Rohl, with Wolfsburg also understood to be in talks with the German as they look to appoint a successor to Ralph Hasenhuttl, who was sacked at the end of last season.
