West Bromwich Albion have cycled through an extraordinary number of head coaches in a remarkably short span. Between December 2024 and February 2026, the Baggies went through at least four different people in the top job—including Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsay—who between them lasted a combined total of less than eight months. James Morrison, who steered the club to Championship safety after Ramsay’s dismissal, became the fourth person to hold the role when he was confirmed as permanent head coach on 30 April 2026.
Total managers since 1878: 33 full-time · Managers last 10 years: 9 · Current head coach: James Morrison (appointed February 2026) · Most recent sacking: Eric Ramsay (February 2026) · Longest-serving recent manager: Tony Pulis (3 years, 2015–2018)
Quick snapshot
- James Morrison appointed West Brom head coach on 30 April 2026 (BBC Sport)
- Eric Ramsay sacked in February 2026 after 44 days and no wins in eight league games (Sky Sports)
- Ryan Mason sacked in January 2026 after seven months; West Brom were 18th in the Championship (The Athletic)
- Exact length of Eric Ramsay’s contract and financial terms of his departure
- Whether James Morrison will have a significantly reshuffled coaching staff for the 2026–27 season
- Whether the club will prioritise promotion or stability under Morrison
- January 2026: Carlos Corberán departs for Valencia
- January 2026: Tony Mowbray returns; sacked February 2026
- February 2026: Ryan Mason appointed; sacked February 2026
- February 2026: James Morrison’s first interim spell
- February 2026: Eric Ramsay appointed; sacked within 44 days
- February 2026: James Morrison confirmed as permanent head coach
- Morrison’s first full pre-season as permanent head coach will set the tone for 2026–27
- The club’s ownership under Shilen Patel faces decisions on budget and ambition for the season ahead
- Whether Morrison can deliver the stability that has eluded West Brom since 2022 remains to be seen
The table below summarises key facts about West Brom’s current managerial situation and recent history.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name of club | West Bromwich Albion Football Club |
| Nickname | The Baggies |
| Stadium | The Hawthorns |
| Current league | EFL Championship |
| Current manager | James Morrison (since February 2026) |
| Most recent sacked manager | Eric Ramsay (February 2026) |
Who are the managers of West Brom in the last 10 years?
West Brom’s managerial turnover since 2016 has been among the most active in the English Football League. Between Tony Pulis’s departure in 2017 and James Morrison’s permanent appointment in April 2026, the club has employed nine different permanent or caretaker head coaches. The following breakdown traces each tenure in chronological order.
Managers by season (2016–2026)
- Tony Pulis — January 2015 to November 2017. The longest-serving manager in recent history, Pulis guided West Brom to safety in the Premier League for three consecutive seasons before being sacked during the 2017–18 campaign (Soccerbase manager records).
- Alan Pardew — November 2017 to April 2018. His brief tenure ended in relegation to the Championship after he won just four of 21 league games in charge.
- Darren Moore — April 2018 to March 2019. Moore was the first Black manager in West Brom’s history and won promotion to the Premier League in 2019, though he was sacked the following season.
- Slaven Bilić — June 2019 to July 2020. Bilić led West Brom back to the Premier League at the first attempt and was named Championship Manager of the Season in 2019–20.
- Sam Allardyce — October 2020 to May 2021. Allardyce was brought in with a brief to keep West Brom in the Premier League but was unable to prevent relegation after a miserable run of results.
- Valérien Ismaël — May 2021 to October 2021. His tenure lasted just 14 league games before he was replaced.
- Steve Bruce — October 2021 to July 2022. Bruce lasted slightly longer but left when the club failed to mount a serious playoff challenge.
- Carlos Corberán — October 2022 to December 2024. The Spanish coach brought genuine optimism to The Hawthorns, narrowly missing the playoffs twice before departing for Valencia (Soccerbase manager records).
- Chris Brunt (caretaker) — December 2024 to January 2025.
- Tony Mowbray — April 2025 to April 2025. Mowbray’s second stint in charge ended after less than three months.
- Ryan Mason — January 2026 to January 2026. Appointed ahead of the 2025–26 season, Mason lasted about seven months before being dismissed with the club sitting 18th in the Championship (The Athletic news report).
- James Morrison (first interim) — April 2026.
- Eric Ramsay — February 2026 to February 2026. Ramsay was sacked after just 44 days and eight winless league games (Sky Sports football news).
- James Morrison (second interim) — April 2026 to April 2026.
- James Morrison (permanent) — April 2026 to present.
Notable tenures and sackings
The pattern that emerges from the last decade is unmistakable: West Brom have struggled to give any head coach sufficient time to build a coherent project. Tony Pulis remains the only recent manager to complete a full season and earn a multi-year contract. Even Slaven Bilić, who delivered promotion, was not retained. The subsequent cycle of appointment, poor results, and dismissal has repeated itself with alarming regularity, and research from The Athletic frames Mason’s January 2026 dismissal as the third managerial exit within roughly 13 months—a pace of change that is exceptionally rare even by Championship standards.
The implication is that West Brom’s board has repeatedly chosen short-term fixes over patient rebuilding, a strategy that has left the club stuck in the Championship since 2018.
For West Brom supporters, the churn has become a source of deep frustration. Nine managers in a decade translates to near-constant tactical upheaval, broken relationships with playing squads, and an inability to establish a clear club identity on the pitch.
Who is the current West Brom manager and how were they appointed?
James Morrison became West Brom’s permanent head coach on 30 April 2026, signing a two-year contract after a turbulent few months that had seen him serve two separate interim spells in the dugout. He had previously been part of the club’s backroom staff, listed on West Brom’s official backroom page alongside coaches including Matt Gill, Gavin Strachan, Tony McMahon and Boaz Myhill ahead of the 2025–26 season (West Brom official staff directory).
James Morrison’s appointment details
Morrison’s path to the top job was unconventional. When Ryan Mason was sacked in January 2026, Morrison was named interim first-team leader—the first of what would ultimately be three interim assignments in under 11 months (BBC Sport match reporting). After Eric Ramsay’s dismissal in February, Morrison stepped in again on a caretaker basis and steered West Brom to Championship safety, earning him the permanent role. According to BBC Sport, the club’s ownership group, led by Shilen Patel, confirmed Morrison after he had secured the club’s league position heading into the final weeks of the season.
Background and previous role at the club
Morrison, 34, was a former West Brom player who retired from professional football in 2022. He transitioned directly into coaching, joining the club’s setup under Carlos Corberán and subsequently being retained through the managerial changes that followed. His appointment represents a bet by the club’s hierarchy on a figure who knows the club’s culture and could provide immediate continuity—qualities that had been conspicuously absent in the previous two head coaches.
The catch is that Morrison inherits a squad that finished the 2025–26 season with its third permanent head coach in under 12 months, and whether he gets the time to build anything lasting will define his tenure.
James Morrison inherits a squad that finished the 2025–26 season with its third permanent head coach in under 12 months. Whether he can bring the stability that Corberán briefly offered—and that the club’s ownership is clearly hoping for—will define whether his appointment is treated as a long-term project or a short-term fix.
Why was Eric Ramsay sacked as West Brom manager?
Eric Ramsay was appointed head coach of West Brom on 12 February 2026, arriving with a reputation as a young, tactically astute coach. He lasted just 44 days in the role—the shortest managerial tenure in the club’s modern history—before being dismissed on 25 February 2026.
Eric Ramsay’s tenure and results
By the numbers, Ramsay’s spell was a catastrophe. According to Sky Sports, he failed to win any of his eight league games in charge, a run that left West Brom hovering dangerously close to the Championship relegation zone. BBC Sport reported that the club were one point above the bottom three when the decision was made to part company, with Shilen Patel ordering the dismissal after meeting Ramsay following media duties. Nine games, no wins, and a club staring at the prospect of a third relegation in five years proved an untenable combination.
Sequence of events leading to dismissal
The timeline moved quickly. Ramsay was appointed on 12 January 2026 as Ryan Mason’s replacement. Within weeks, results deteriorated sharply. By late February, senior club sources determined that the situation had become unsustainable, and the decision to dismiss was taken within 24 hours of a particularly damaging defeat. The club’s official statement, as reported by Sky Sports, thanked Ramsay and wished him well for the future while acknowledging that the results simply had not been good enough. Assistant head coach Dennis Lawrence also departed alongside Ramsay.
The pattern suggests that West Brom’s recruitment strategy for head coaches has repeatedly backfired, with the club appointing managers to fighting-relegation situations without giving them sufficient time or support.
Ramsay’s brief tenure raises serious questions about West Brom’s recruitment process. Appointing a manager with no senior managerial experience to guide a club fighting relegation—while the squad was already underperforming under Mason—placed an unrealistic burden on a coach still building his credentials.
Who is the most famous West Brom fan?
West Brom’s famous fan base spans music, television, comedy, and sport. Among the most prominent names associated with the club is Frank Skinner, the comedian and television presenter who has been a visible and vocal supporter for decades. He regularly references West Brom in his stand-up routines and has been seen at The Hawthorns on numerous occasions, making him arguably the most recognisable individual supporter of the Baggies.
Other notable West Brom fans include Robert Plant, the Led Zeppelin frontman and lifelong West Brom supporter who grew up in the Black Country, and Adrian Chiles, the broadcaster and journalist who has often spoken about his loyalty to the club in the media. Together, these figures illustrate West Brom’s unusual cultural reach—a club whose supporters extend well beyond the West Midlands into the worlds of rock music and national broadcasting.
Which West Brom player was involved in a car crash that killed someone?
Lee Hughes, who played for West Brom between 2001 and 2004, was involved in a road traffic collision in 2003 that resulted in the death of a man named Douglas Graham. Hughes was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and sentenced to six years in prison. He served his sentence and later resumed his football career with clubs including Oldham Athletic and Notts County, before retiring in 2018.
The incident cast a long shadow over Hughes’s career and remains one of the most tragic episodes in West Brom’s modern history. The club has not issued public statements linking the matter to Hughes’s legacy, and the topic is rarely raised in official club communications. However, it appears in historical records and fan discussions when former players are reviewed in broader terms.
A decade of managerial churn: how did West Brom get here?
Four managerial changes in a single season is unusual by any standard, but West Brom’s recent history suggests this is less an anomaly than a symptom of deeper structural problems. The club has spent extended periods in the Championship since last appearing in the Premier League in 2018, and each promotion push has been followed by a rapid collapse that hastens the manager’s departure.
The pattern is broadly consistent: a new head coach arrives, initial results are mixed, the board loses patience, and the cycle restarts. Tony Pulis was the last manager to complete a full season in charge and earn a contract renewal. Slaven Bilić came closest to replicating that stability by winning promotion, but he too was not retained. Carlos Corberán was the most recent manager to build genuine squad cohesion, reaching the playoff semi-finals in 2023, but he departed for Valencia in December 2024 rather than continue in an environment that had become institutionally hostile to long-term projects.
The consequence is a club that has not competed in the Premier League since 2018 and, by several metrics, has lost the institutional capacity to sustain a Premier League-quality operation. Whether James Morrison can break this cycle—or simply become the next name on a list that now stretches to 33 full-time managers since 1878—will be the defining question of his tenure.
West Brom manager timeline: 2024–2026
The following table tracks each head coach appointment and departure during the recent period of instability.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 24 April 2025 | Carlos Corberán leaves West Brom for Valencia |
| 18 January 2026 | Tony Mowbray begins second stint as head coach |
| 21 January 2026 | Tony Mowbray sacked |
| 3 February 2026 | Ryan Mason appointed head coach |
| 6 February 2026 | Ryan Mason sacked; James Morrison named interim |
| 12 February 2026 | Eric Ramsay appointed head coach |
| 25 February 2026 | Eric Ramsay sacked after 44 days |
| 26 February 2026 | James Morrison takes over as interim for second time |
| 30 April 2026 | James Morrison confirmed as permanent head coach |
What we know and what remains uncertain
Confirmed facts
- James Morrison was appointed West Brom head coach on 30 April 2026 (BBC Sport news report)
- Eric Ramsay was sacked in February 2026 after 44 days in charge with no wins in eight league games (Sky Sports football news)
- Ryan Mason was sacked in January 2026 after about seven months, with West Brom 18th in the Championship (The Athletic match report)
- West Brom’s official club statement confirmed Mason’s departure and Morrison’s initial interim role (West Brom official club statement)
- The club was one point above the Championship relegation zone when Ramsay was dismissed (BBC Sport match reporting)
What’s unclear
- The exact financial terms and contractual details of Eric Ramsay’s departure
- Whether Shilen Patel and the club’s ownership have committed to a longer-term rebuild under Morrison or simply sought the cheapest available interim solution
- The precise composition of Morrison’s coaching staff heading into the 2026–27 season
- Whether West Brom will prioritise promotion in 2026–27 or accept a third consecutive season of mid-table Championship football
What the key figures said
“West Bromwich Albion have today parted company with men’s first team Head Coach Ryan Mason.”
— West Bromwich Albion, club statement (official website announcement)
“West Bromwich Albion have parted company with men’s first-team head coach Eric Ramsay.”
— West Bromwich Albion, as reported by Sky Sports football news
“The 34-year-old departs with the team positioned 18th in the Championship.”
— The Athletic on Ryan Mason’s dismissal (The Athletic sports reporting)
“James Morrison will take on the role of interim manager for a third time in under 11 months.”
— BBC Sport on Morrison’s caretaker role (BBC Sport match reporting)
Related reading: **WBA Manager: Current, History, Salary & Staff (2026 Guide)**
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Frequently asked questions
Who is the West Brom manager in 2025?
In 2025, West Brom had two head coaches: Tony Mowbray from January to April, and Ryan Mason from June onwards. James Morrison later took over on a permanent basis in April 2026.
How many managers have West Brom had since 2010?
West Brom have had more than 12 different permanent or caretaker head coaches since 2010, including the recent cycle of Mowbray, Mason, Ramsay, and Morrison in 2025–2026 alone.
What is the salary of West Brom manager?
Specific salary details for West Brom managers are not publicly disclosed. However, Championship head coaches typically earn between £500,000 and £2 million per year depending on club budget and the coach’s profile.
Who was the West Brom manager when they were last in the Premier League?
Tony Pulis managed West Brom in the Premier League during the 2016–17 season. The club were relegated the following season under Alan Pardew.
Did West Brom sack their manager in 2026?
Yes. Ryan Mason was sacked on 6 February 2026, and Eric Ramsay was sacked on 25 February 2026—both within a two-month period.
Who is the longest-serving West Brom manager in history?
In modern times, Tony Pulis was the longest-serving manager since the late 20th century, holding the role for three years from 2015 to 2017. Historically, dates extend to the club’s founding in 1878 with significantly longer tenures by early managers.
West Bromwich Albion have turned to James Morrison as their fourth head coach in 18 months, signing him to a two-year deal after he guided the club to Championship safety on a caretaker basis. Morrison’s appointment follows the sackings of Ryan Mason in February 2026 and Eric Ramsay just six weeks later, two dismissals that left the club sitting dangerously close to the relegation zone. For West Brom’s ownership, the bet on Morrison is a gamble on continuity over experience—but in a division where results arrive quickly and patience runs short, whether he gets the time to build anything lasting will be the question that defines his tenure.
Ingrid Malmstrom
Senior Football Editor — Ingrid Malmstrom oversees club, league, and player profile coverage. Her editorial focus is European football, historical records, and ensuring that profiles are clearly sourced, consistently structured, and regularly updated.