Mauricio Pochettino could be the latest victim of Chelsea's seemingly never-ending quest to find a manager the board likes.
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Pochettino was supposed to herald a bright new era for the club. The club's new ownership had brought in a high-profile coach to guide a squad full of young, expensive talent, and the former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain boss was tasked with getting his budding stars primed for a title charge.
But the West London side has been miles off the pace, with only a Carabao Cup final appearance offering a redeeming moment in a dire campaign. Chelsea were bitterly disappointed in the final, losing to an injury-ravaged Liverpool team in the extra time.
While the scattergun transfer approach of club chairman Todd Boehly hasn't exactly helped, the squad is nowhere near a coherent unit, and Pochettino's efforts to get them all singing from the same hymn sheet have brought mixed results. Every time the Blues have turned a corner, an embarrassing result meets them head-on.
The performances of Cole Palmer aside, there aren't many positives to call upon, and Chelsea could again be in for a summer of squad change—if financial fair play rules don't catch up to them.
But who could be guiding the Blues heading into next season? The job might seem like a poisoned chalice, but it remains one of the top jobs in world football—if someone has the stomach for it.
Here are six coaches who might fancy the challenge.
Surely not? It couldn't happen, could it?
José Mourinho returning for a third stint at Stamford Bridge seems equal parts genius and ridiculous.
Few managers have been able to capture the hearts of Chelsea fans quite like the Portuguese. That's made even more impressive when you consider 16 different people have taken the team's helm since his first exit in 2007—not to mention those who have taken up the mantel twice, including Mourinho.
But the Blues love him, and that's understandable considering he brought Premier League glory in both stints as boss (twice the first time), in addition to an FA Cup and three League Cups across both periods.
Many will say the 61-year-old has lost his touch, with underwhelming spells at Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Roma since 2016. But Mourinho and Chelsea are the Ross and Rachel of football, the on-off romance we seemingly can't turn away from.
It would be explosive, and it would be fun. It's the sort of matchmaking that would delight the club's fans and rivals, with the former expecting glory and the latter waiting for the spectacular third-season meltdown.
Thomas Tuchel's Bayern Munich reign has had notable parallels to his time at Chelsea.
His midseason appointment ended with silverware at both clubs before he suffered a remarkable downturn in fortunes.
Chelsea fans were reasonably distraught when Tuchel was axed in September 2022, having brought European Cup glory to the Blues for only the second time in their history just over a year prior.
And, you could argue, it was a rather harsh decision. The German guided Chelsea to third in the Premier League in his only full season with the club, coming amid a fixture schedule that was congested by UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup duties, as well as appearances in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals (both defeats).
Despite stale performances, the Blues were sixth after six Premier League games and a mere four points behind eventual champions Manchester City at the time of his ouster.
There was more than enough time to right the ship, and predecessors Graham Potter and Frank Lampard didn't fair much better, with the club finishing 12th after a dire, confused season.
Tuchel's reputation has taken a further blow after losing ground to Bayer Leverkusen in the 2023-24 Bundesliga title race. With Bayern's reputation of being all-conquering in the domestic league, anything but top spot is considered a failure.
A second-round exit in the DFB-Pokal to third-tier Saarbrucken was a notable nadir of a rough campaign, but Bayern are into the Champions League quarter-finals despite a first-leg wobble against Lazio. Tuchel is still set to leave the club at the end of the season, though.
Maybe a second go-round at Stamford Bridge can help restore his reputation and allow him to prove to Blues fans their faith was well-placed. Or it could be a disaster.
Either way, it should be entertaining.
Chelsea going back to Brighton & Hove Albion well seems potentially misguided given the success of former Seagulls in West London so far, so the club might be wary about turning to Roberto De Zerbi.
However, the Blues haven't exactly been famed for decision-making in the last few years.
That's not to say De Zerbi is a bad manager. Far from it. His success with Brighton has been laudable, guiding the club to its first-ever appearance in a European club competition and having the south-coast side consistently punching above its weight in the Premier League.
But things seem to turn sour as soon as blue stripes get swapped for Chelsea Blue.
Graham Potter's spell as boss at Stamford Bridge was a disaster. He recorded just 12 wins in 31 matches and was given his marching orders after just seven months with the team 11th in the league.
Marc Cucurella and Moisés Caicedo have not yet lived up to lofty price tags after making the switch from the Amex Stadium, and Robert Sánchez has seemingly been demoted from his position of starting goalkeeper by Djordje Petrovic—although an injury might be partly responsible for that.
What De Zerbi has going for him is his development of young talent. Evan Ferguson, Billy Gilmour, Julio Enciso and João Pedro have thrived under his tutelage, and he also helped convince Chelsea that Caicedo was worth around $147 million.
The Italian can buck the trend of struggling Seagulls by performing similar magic at Stamford Bridge.
Xavi will be leaving Barcelona at the end of the season, putting him near the front of the queue for high-profile positions across the football world.
Despite having a managerial resume that only stretches back to 2019, he's not been short of success.
Indeed, guiding Barcelona to La Liga glory after three barren seasons and the absence of Lionel Messi is no small feat, and he did so while operating under a difficult financial situation at the Camp Nou.
Add in the Supercopa de España and a host of trophies from his stint in Qatar as manager of Al Sadd, and it looks like he's got the chops to guide Chelsea to success.
Having dealt with emerging talent and high-profile stars will serve him well, as will experience working in one of the most high-pressure jobs in the game. His teams have played delightful football, too, demonstrating the grace and poise he brought to games in his playing days.
Chelsea could take a relative gamble on him, although it's difficult to predict how long the club's patience will last as he tries to instill his philosophy on the team—he can ask Maurizio Sarri all about that.
Hansi Flick is still looking for a job after a hugely disappointing time as the Germany national team's boss.
Twelve wins in 25 matches for the European powerhouse was well below expectations, with an eight-game winning streak at the start of his tenure having a significant asterisk given the quality of opposition faced.
Before that, though, he'd claimed 70 wins from 86 matches with Bayern Munich, securing two Bundesliga titles, the DFB-Pokal, the DFB Supercup, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup in the space of two seasons.
Flick has to be given another opportunity at a big club soon, and Chelsea might just be the next team to come knocking.
Chelsea poached the manager they still love unconditionally from the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
Mourinho swapped Porto for West London in 2004, and the Blues could turn to the Dragōes' rivals in Lisbon for their next boss.
Sporting CP manager Rúben Amorim has his team sitting pretty at the top of Portugal's top flight, and he could soon pick up a trophy he already hoisted as a coach at the end of the 2020-21 season.
He's grabbed three other titles with Sporting and one with Braga in his short managerial career, which will definitely appeal to Chelsea chairman Boehly, who will surely want a little bit of silverware following his astronomical investment.
Amorim's high-intensity style could work perfectly with a squad full of young legs, and he'll bring reams of knowledge about Primeira Liga stars who could be brought to the English league—it's a well-worn path that has typically delivered success.
It's a decent fit, but with several high-profile managerial positions set to be up for grabs this summer, perhaps a more stable club will be more coveted by one of the best up-and-coming coaches around.