Top 10 Coaching Returns

Top 10 Coaching Returns

James Caughlin James Caughlin

Who says you can’t go home again?

Tim Sheens is reportedly set to return to the hot seat of the Wests Tigers almost 17 years after guiding them to the 2005 NRL Premiership.

It comes after Michael Maguire was sacked last month and Sheens will return to the role after lengthy negotiations with the Wests Tigers Head of Football… Tim Sheens.

For some coaches, certain places just have a special hold on them and Sheens is not the first coach to go back to a previous spot to try and relive the good times.

Zinedine Zidane

It was almost like Ziziou never left the Bernabaeu, after all, when he stepped aside in May 2018 he was looking for a fresh opportunity.

However after a pair of underwhelming appointments in Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari, Los Blancos went back to the French legend and he returned to the post 282 days after leaving.

His second stint wasn’t quite as profitable as his first one, however he did lead Madrid to the league title in 2020 before departing once more at the conclusion of the 2020-2021 campaign after going trophyless.

At the time of writing Real Madrid appear to be happy with Carlo Ancelotti after winning the Champions League however that could change as early as September and if Zidane is available again…

Jose Mourinho

After the departure of Santiago Solari, many assumed that it would be the Portuguese boss who would return to Real Madrid where he managed from 2010 to 2013.

After bursting onto the footballing stage with his Champions League victory with Porto in 2004 he was hired by Chelsea and departed the club in September 2007.

After collecting plenty of trophies with Inter Milan and Real Madrid, Mourinho was brought back to Chelsea in 2013 where he won yet another Premier League title and the League Cup in his second season.

Unfortunately for the self proclaimed “Special One”, his grating style wore out his welcome at Stamford Bridge and he left the club once again in December 2016.

Say what you want about Mourinho, but he’s always been confident… if not arrogant.

Kenny Dalglish

Already a legendary player, Dalglish became player-manager of Liverpool in 1985 following Joe Fagan’s retirement.

Of course his role was reduced to a bit part player at that time and over the five seasons he was pulling double duty, he made less and less appearances as he moved into his late 30’s.

He also guided Liverpool to its last League title back in 1990, making his lone appearance of the season on the final day as the club celebrated it’s win at Anfield.

With his playing career finished, Dalglish only lasted another half season in charge as manager, resigning from Liverpool in February 1991.

After winning the Premier League with Blackburn in 1995 and time with Newcastle and Celtic, it appeared his time as a top flight manager was over after leaving Celtic in 2000 after serving as interim manager.

Dalglish would not manage another club until returning to Liverpool in January 2011.

After guiding the club through to the end of the season, Dalglish was appointed as permanent manager but only lasted one season as the club won the League Cup and lost the FA Cup Final but produced their worst Premier League effort since 1994 finishing eighth.

Even though he’s not in charge now, it’s safe to say Liverpool is still very much a part of him, based on his celebrations when the Reds won the title in 2020.

Jupp Heynckes

One homecoming was not enough for the German manager who has had a crazy career.

After almost a decade at Borussia Monchengladbach, Heynckes began his first stint with Bayern Munich where he oversaw two Bundesliga titles and a DFB Supercup in four seasons in charge.

He began the 1991-1992 season with Bayern but was sacked early in that season in a decision that Uli Hoeness later described as a big mistake.

Heynckes spent time managing in Spain and Germany after that, including one season at Real Madrid where he won the club’s first Champions League since 1966, of course finishing fourth in La Liga was still cause enough to sack him.

Heynckes had his first return as a manager joining Athletic Bilbao for two seasons between 2001 and 2003.

In 2006 Heynckes returned to the club where he had made his name as a player and began his coaching career, re-joining Borussia Monchengladbach however that spell only lasted a season as the club was relegated and Heynckes retired… temporarily.

That retirement ended in 2009 when he returned to Bayern Munich as caretaker replacing Jurgen Klinsmann for the final two months of the season.

Apparently, that lit a fire under Heynckes as he returned to full time management a month later joining Bayer Leverkusen for two seasons before coming back to Bayern Munich where he won the League, Cup and European treble in his second and (apparently) final season.

Some people just can’t get away and Heynckes came back for one more season in 2017-2018 replacing Carlo Ancelotti and winning another Bundesliga title before retiring again… for good this time.

Claudio Ranieri

The Italian manager will always be remembered for his masterminding of Leicester’s unlikely Premier League triumph in 2016 but he will always have a special place for his home club of Roma.

He guided the club to a runner up finish in Serie A and the Coppa Italia final but clashes with Francesco Totti pushed him out of Roma in February 2011.

In 2019, he was brought back to Roma to finish the season off and when the club was in fifth place in Serie A, however he couldn’t quite get them into the Champions League and left the club once more.

Wayne Bennett

For most of their history, you could not think of the Brisbane Broncos without thinking of Wayne Bennett.

The man of few words was in charge of the Broncos for their first 21 seasons, guiding them to six Premierships before departing at the end of the 2008 season.

After six seasons away from Red Hill, Bennett returned in 2015 and immediately took the club to within seconds of its seventh Premiership in his first season back with the club where he stayed for a total of four seasons, bringing his overall tally to 25 with the Broncos.

He has returned to South East Queensland once more, taking up a role with the Dolphins ahead of their NRL debut in 2023.

Ivan Cleary

Cleary was in charge of the Panthers for exactly 100 games between 2012 and 2015, managing 45 wins and 55 losses.

The highlight of that first stint came in 2014 when the side reached the Preliminary Final before losing to Canterbury.

In October 2018, the Panthers confirmed that Cleary would be back as coach after two seasons with the Wests Tigers.

Safe to say this homecoming was a happy one as he has helped turn the club into an NRL powerhouse including the 2021 NRL Premiership.

Norm Smith

The obscure sacking and then re-instatement of the iconic Demons coach Norm Smith has haunted the Demons for a long time after their 1964 premiership.

For some strange reason, Melbourne decided to part ways with their six-time premiership winning coach midway through the 1965 season.

Many believe it had to do with bickering between coach and boardroom.

It was the biggest scandal and still remains one of the biggest stories in the history of the game.

Norm Smith called on the Demons members and supporters to support him and he would be reinstated four days later as club coach.

Joe Gibbs

There is little doubt that Gibbs is the best coach in the franchise now known as the Washington Commanders history thanks in large part to his first stint where he guided the franchise to three Super Bowl titles and reached a fourth.

Gibbs retired from the game at the end of the 1992 season, citing health problems and went into television work with NBC and created his own NASCAR racing team where he has also enjoyed plenty of success.

Eventually, after 12 seasons out of football, Gibbs finally returned to the sideline once again with Washington where he spent four seasons.

In his second year he made the playoffs, beating Tampa Bay before losing to Seattle who would reach the Super Bowl.

His fourth and finals season with Washington saw the toughest stretch of his career as he was forced to coach around the death of a player, guiding the team to the playoffs however that strain took its toll on Gibbs and he retired again a few days after their playoff exit.

Phil Jackson

The “Master of Zen” Phil Jackson is one of the NBA’s most successful coaches, winning 11 titles in his time in the NBA.

In Chicago, Jackson combined with Michael Jordan to win six titles for the Bulls before leaving in 1998 for a year off.

In 1999 Jackson was hired by the LA Lakers where he won the title in his first three seasons in charge, however he resigned as coach at the end of the 2004 NBA Finals wanting to take time off, breaking up the trifecta of Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

Three days short of the first anniversary of Jackson leaving the Lakers, Jackson was back in charge and immediately brought the Lakers back to the playoffs.

He made the finals in 2008 losing to the Boston Celtics before claiming the next two Championships to bring his tally to a remarkable 11 as a coach.