Getty ImagesAnge Postecoglou's departure as Australian coach seven and a half months out from the World Cup has left the FFA with a massive void to fill.
The governing body are keen to recruit a foreign manager, most likely from Europe, to steer the team through Russia before Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat takes over permanently.
Which candidates will the FFA be looking to add to their shortlist?
Despite the Azzurri’s early exit in Brazil, the 60-year-old Italian is still held in high regard for orchestrating his nation’s surprise run to the Euro 2012 final.
A modest playing career saw him feature for the likes of Atalanta and Juventus before guiding Hellas Verona to promotion from Serie B in the late 90s.
Enhanced his reputation at Parma in the 2000s before establishing himself as one of the nation’s best coaches after leading Fiorentina to consecutive Champions League campaigns.
Short, turbulent stints at Galatasaray and Valencia have followed in recent years with the ex-Roma boss now finding himself in charge of Dubai-based Al Nasr.
GettyHaving helped Saudi Arabia directly qualify for Russia next year ahead of Australia, the 65-year-old Dutchman, much like Postecoglou, will not be at the tournament to finish off his work.
One of the best coaches to come out of the Netherlands in the last two decades, the one-time Dutch international earned accolades for steering Feyenoord to UEFA Cup success in 2002.
Two years at Borussia Dortmund and another season at De Kuip preceded his time as Holland manager which saw him come within a whisker of helping the much-maligned Oranje win the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
A group-stage exit at Euro 2012 saw him depart his post before spending a season managing Hamburg.
GettyimagesA World Cup winning captain on home soil at France 1998, the 52-year-old has recently emerged as a surprise candidate for the vacant US men’s national team post.
A two-decade long playing career saw him feature for the likes of Napoli, Barcelona, Marseille, Inter Milan and Manchester United.
A three-year spell on the touchline at Bordeaux yielded a Ligue 1 title in 2009 before helping the Girondins reach the Champions League quarter-finals the following season.
Promoted to the role of French national team coach, his two years in charge saw him get Les Bleus back on track after the disaster of South Africa and most notably led PSG to three successive league titles prior to his 2016 departure.
A World Cup winner with West Germany at Italia 90, the 53-year-old also won Euro 1996 as well as two UEFA Cup triumphs in a decorated playing career which saw him earn cult hero status with Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
His appointment as Germany manager in 2004 raised many eyebrows given he then had no previous managerial experience and lived in California, although Klinsmann eventually won over his detractors by helping Die Mannschaft finish third as hosts of the 2006 World Cup.
A failed spell at Bayern Munich followed although he restored his reputation by taking the United States to the round of 16 at Brazil 2014 before falling out with the US football governing body.
Getty ImagesA European Cup winning captain with PSV during his playing days, Gerets went to three World Cups as a player with Belgium, captaining the Red Devils to a fourth-place finish at Mexico 86.
The 63-year-old has won six league titles in four different countries as well as managing the likes of Wolfsburg and Marseille in the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 respectively.
He has international experience having managed the Moroccan national team earlier this decade and most recently enjoyed club stints in the Gulf having worked in both Qatar and the UAE.
GettyThe 56-year-old is a candidate for the vacant West Brom managerial role but was also linked to Melbourne City last off-season.
A FA Cup finalist with Crystal Palace during his playing years, Pardew earned his managerial stripes with Reading in the early 2000s before guiding West Ham back into the Premier League and helping them reach the 2006 FA Cup final.
A successful spell in Charlton coincided with their relegation from the EPL before helping steer Southampton out of League One and into the Championship.
Four inconsistent years at Tyneside with Newcastle United followed with the Magpies fifth place finish in 2012 - the highlight of his time at St James’ Park.
His most recent spell at Selhurst Park produced mixed results.
GettyImagesAnother of the Premier League’s recently departed, the 49-year-old won a Yugoslav Cup with Hajduk Split while also helping a newly-independent Croatia finish third in France 98.
His time in charge of the Croatian national team proved largely successful with the charismatic part-time rocker guiding the Vatreni to the Euro 2008 quarter-finals having famously knocked out England in the qualifiers.
A short spell in Russia with Lokomotiv Moscow was followed by two-years in charge of Besiktas before returning to West Ham in 2015.
A seventh place finish in the Hammers final season at Upton Park was followed by an underwhelming season at the Olympic Stadium and subsequently his dismissal from the post earlier this month.
AABilic’s Euro 2008 nemesis is considered to be one of the greatest Turkish coaches of all time.
Nicknamed ‘the Emperor’, the 64-year-old has won six league titles with Galatasaray while also having spells in Italy with Fiorentina and Milan during the early 2000s.
He memorably led Gala to a UEFA Cup triumph in 2000 and his team formed much of the nucleus of Turkey’s 2002 World Cup team which finished third in Korea-Japan.
At an international level, he has had three separate spells in charge of the Turkish national team which included leading the country to their first major tournament in 42 years by qualifying for Euro 1996 as well as their memorable run to the semi-finals 12 years later.
proshotsThe 61-year-old Dutchman has previously been linked with the Socceroos head coaching role and has been out of work since coaching Egyptian giants Al Ahly last year.
A Dutch Cup winner with Roda in 1997, his good work at unfashionable RKC Waalwijk attracted the attention of Tottenham in 2004.
He guided Spurs to the brink of Champions League football in his three years at White Hart Lane before taking Hamburg to the UEFA Cup semi-finals in 2009.
A cup-winning season at Ajax was followed by a return to London in 2011 with Jol succeeding Mark Hughes in charge of Fulham.
Initially successful in time at Craven Cottage, he departed West London in December 2013 just as the club began to slide out of the Premier League.
Backpage pixA two-time Israeli-league winner with Maccabi Haifa, the 62-year-old spent four years in charge of his country’s national team which included going undefeated on the road to Germany in 2006, but ultimately finishing behind France and Switzerland in their group.
Mourinho’s surprise successor at Chelsea in 2007, the caretaker was a kick away from leading Chelsea to their first Champions League crown.
Subsequent spells in charge of Portsmouth and West Ham proved largely unsuccessful before winning a Serbian league title with Partizan in 2012.
Has spent the last three years in charge of the Ghana national team, a stint which saw more penalty shootout heartache deny him African Cup of Nations glory in 2015.
Lennart PreissFormer manager Guus Hiddink is the populists’ choice but calls to see him appointed as coach are perhaps guided by a certain degree of nostalgia for that magical European summer of 2006 in Germany.
It is worth noting that the 71-year-old has had little success since helping Chelsea lift the FA Cup in 2009 with his stints in charge of Russia, Turkey and Holland ending in failure.
Compatriot Louis van Gaal is perhaps one of the most high-profile coaching free agents although the 66-year-old rejected the Socceroos’ advances back in 2007 and stated his desire to coach a national team with a ‘realistic’ chance of winning the World Cup.
His former Barcelona assistant Ronald Koeman is reportedly in the frame to succeed Dick Advocaat as Oranje manager while the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Luis Enrique and Thomas Tuchel are unrealistic targets.
Veteran Spaniard Juande Ramos won two UEFA Cup’s with Sevilla last decade while also winning a league cup with Tottenham and is currently unattached as is ex-Udinese and Swansea boss Francesco Guidolin.
The majority of Argentina’s up-and-coming generation of coaches are currently in work although highly-rated 36-year-old Luis Zubeldia is on the hunt for a new job having been axed by La Liga outfit Alaves last year.
Serbian legend Dragan Stojkovic has done well in China with Guangzhou R & F having previously coached Nagoya to a J-League title while his former Yugoslavia World Cup teammate Robert Prosinecki recently departed his post as Azerbaijan national team manager after achieving some modest results with the former Soviet republic.
Former Sydney FC manager Vitezslav Lavicka has won a Czech title since his time in the harbour city and is currently in charge of his nation’s under 21 side.