Next Middlesbrough Manager Odds: O'Neil, Rodgers & Gerrard in the mix
Will Jackson 
Gary O'Neil is among the names being linked with the vacant Middlesbrough manager's role, after the departure of Rob Edwards over the weekend.
The former Wolves boss has been linked to a number of jobs in the past 12 months but is among the forerunners for the Championship side, along with Brendan Rodgers and Steven Gerrard, according to UK betting sites.
There are some more familiar names in the reckoning, and Free Bets has had a look at the runners and riders.
Next Middlesbrough Manager Odds
Here are the four favourites for the Middlesbrough job.
| Candidate | Next Middlesbrough Manager Odds |
| Gary O'Neil | 2/1 |
| Brendan Rodgers | 7/2 |
| Tony Mowbray | 10/3 |
| Steven Gerrard | 4/1 |
Gary O'Neil
It's becoming a familiar story: a manager sacked by a side in the second tier and O'Neil is immediately installed as the new favourite.
It's been 12 months now since he was sacked by Wolves, and while it was understandable why he didn't make an immediate return to the dugout, it's now something of a mystery as to why.
You would have thought that after respectable jobs with Wolves and Bournemouth before that, O'Neil would be hot property for a Championship side but he didn't manage to get any work over the summer and is still on the hunt.
He nearly returned to Wolves last week only to get cold feet - potentially following fan reaction - and make way for Rob Edwards, so could they eventually do some sort of job swap?
He has previous with the club having played there for four years, so it would tick a lot of boxes and continue the recent theme of appointing up-and-coming managers.
Brendan Rodgers
It's hardly a ringing endorsement when your former chairman describes you as "divisive, misleading, and self-serving", but that's what Dermot Desmond said about Rodgers after his quick departure from Celtic.
It might not be too hard to read into these words and deduce that Rodgers may have been planning his exit from Celtic Park for a while and would be open to an immediate return to management.
Rodgers is another who is going to have to get used to seeing his name linked to any vacant job going at the moment, and the prospect of him managing at the Riverside seems quite unlikely.
He is almost certainly being linked just because he is out of work, because Rodgers could expect to attract Premier League sides still given the reputation he has forged at Celtic and Leicester.
Tony Mowbray
This could be one for the romantics out there, but a return to the Riverside for Tony Mowbray?
He is a club legend having played there for almost a decade and then managed there for a further three years, but it would be far from straightforward.
Mowbray left his role at Birmingham due to ill health but returned to the game with West Brom at the start of 2025, only to be sacked four months later.
It might not go down as the most ambitious appointment of all time if it did happen, but you won't find many people in football who don't want Mowbray to do well.
Steven Gerrard
This is one that makes a little bit of sense and like the prospect of O'Neil, would represent another up-and-coming manager at the club.
Gerrard rejected the chance to return to Rangers recently after claiming he wanted to test himself at a higher level, and with the Premier League likely to be out of reach right now, a chance at a club chasing promotion would be ideal.
Frank Lampard at Coventry would be the perfect example to hold up to Gerrard if he has any doubts about dropping to that level - do a good job and you will put yourself in the shop window in the future.
