Rob Edwards signs 3-year deal as new Middlesbrough coach as Boro fill role left by sacking of Carrick earlier in June.
Rob Edwards has been officially announced as Middlesbrough’s eighth manager since their Premier League relegation in 2017.
“It’s a real privilege to be be given the opportunity to be head coach of this great football club,” said Edwards after long-running negotiations to finalise the 42-year-old’s three-year contract and composition of his coaching staff were finally concluded. “It’s something that’s not lost on me, how big this is, how important this is and what it means to people. There is an amazing fanbase here.”
Although Luton narrowly avoided instant relegation back to the Championship in 2023, Edwards guided the team into the top division for the first time in thirty-one years. When Edwards left by mutual consent in January, the team was in 20th place after struggling upon their return to the second division. In the end, Luton dropped to League One.
“It instantly felt that this was right for me,” said Edwards, a former Wales defender who previously steered Forest Green to promotion from League Two and replaces Michael Carrick, who was sacked by Boro’s owner, Steve Gibson, after failing to lead the club back to the Premier League in his two and a half years in charge. “It got me excited. If I was going to come back in I wanted to come back in at a place where we had a chance and we have a really good chance here.
“We have a brilliant owner who, historically, gives his coaches time, support and the tools they need to be successful. I can’t wait to get started now.”
Before Gibson hired Carrick in October 2022, Edwards, who had previously worked at Wolves with Kieran Scott, Boro’s head of football, was at the top of his wishlist. This time, Boro interviewed a lot of applicants and discussed the position with Sheffield Wednesday’s Danny Rohl and former Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper, but Edwards made a huge impression.