What next for Wayne Rooney? Man Utd legend should QUIT management after brutal Plymouth sacking - family life, punditry and 'playing second fiddle' to Coleen a better fit for one of England's true greats

When Rooney returned to England from Major League Soccer in 2020, it was speculated it was with a move into management in mind. He signed a player-coach deal with Derby County in January of that year and was instantly made captain by then-manager Phillip Cocu, and it was immediately speculated Rooney would be the one to succeed the Dutchman on the occasion of his Pride Park departure.

Indeed, Cocu was sacked early on during the 2020-21 season, with Rooney given the opportunity to lead a four-man staff including Liam Rosenior, Shay Given and Justin Walker. The situation was far from ideal though, as the Rams sat bottom of the Championship and were on the brink of financial ruin.

Reports began to swirl that Rooney had been completely consumed by Derby's crisis, that he was sleeping on a sofa at the training ground in order to maximise his time helping them avoid relegation. The Rams survived on the final day of 2020-21, but were handed an impossible task of repeating that feat the following year, chalking up 21 points of deductions as a result of financial mismanagement. Rooney continued to fight for Derby, though could not stave off such an inevitable relegation this time around. Without those deductions, bare-bones Derby would have comfortably survived, and he resigned shortly after their drop into League One was confirmed.

Rooney's next venture saw him return to MLS with D.C. United, who were struggling to achieve playoff status. In one-and-a-half years back in the American capital, he failed to edge them any closer to that dream and again walked away.

And then his career began to spiral. He was named the unpopular replacement for John Eustace at Birmingham City in October 2023 under their new American ownership, headlined by minority investment from NFL legend Tom Brady. Rooney signed for the Blues amid an unlikely push for the Premier League, only to be fired 15 games later with the club on a one-way train to League One.

That's why it was such a shock Plymouth took a punt on him so quickly after bursting into the flames of the St Andrews inferno. Barely six months had passed from leaving Birmingham to taking the reins down at Home Park. That's why it wasn't such a shock when everything went up in smoke again.

When you lay Rooney's managerial career out with the context, it's pretty damn wincing as it is. When you strip that back and look at the cold, hard numbers, it's excruciating.

As we move into 2025, Rooney has overseen 178 matches as a manager or head coach, which is fairly impressive considering he hasn't even turned 40 yet. His record of 45 victories, 46 draws, 87 losses and a winning percentage of only 25.4, however, is not.

Across four different clubs, he has failed to instil any sort of winning mentality. In the cases of Derby and Plymouth, whose squads were among the worst in their division at the time, that's understandable, but no such leeway or sympathy will be found over the disasters of his D.C. United and Birmingham failures, where matters were actively made worse by his presence. There is nothing that defines a Rooney team but losing.

Time and age are on Rooney's side, though there's such a vacuum of evidence to this point he can be a winning manager regardless of situation or environment, and he's now more likely to drive suitors away with another horror spell added to his CV.

Rooney, in his defence, is not alone in this circle of strangely unsuccessful managers. Many of his former England team-mates have also moved into management only to discover life wasn't as rosy on the other side of the chalked white lines.

One of Rooney's final games at Plymouth saw him destroyed by Frank Lampard fresh into his days at Coventry City, returning to the Championship having managed Chelsea twice and Everton after his last stint in the second tier with, ironically, Derby. The former midfielder's stock has significantly fallen over the last four years having initially established himself as an up-and-coming coach capable of blooding young talent into senior setups.

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard is similarly enduring a climbdown after ending Rangers' nine-year wait for a Scottish title, flaming out at Aston Villa and now struggling to redeem himself in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq. The less said about Gary Neville's time at Valencia, the better.

It's a common and recurring narrative among England's 'golden generation', and when you consider how vocal those stars have been about the reasons behind their national team failures, perhaps it's easy to understand why. That side failed to connect on a human level, and that appears to have seeped through into their managerial styles, bringing a cold-shoulder approach that has led to frustration with players who are lesser than they were. In the case of Rooney, he is said to have suffered from a case of 'Glenn Hoddle syndrome' in which he may still have been better than some of his Plymouth charges.

So if Rooney has no future in management, what else can he do to bide his time? Fortunately, there are a few options for him to mull over.

The Sun reported on Tuesday that he could be in line for a return to TV punditry, with a source confirming his approval rating remains high in that arm of the industry.

"Wayne is regarded as one of the best pundits in the business," a TV insider said. "He's very, very knowledgeable about the game. And even though he's actually quite a shy person, he really feels at home in a TV studio. It's been a rubbish end to 2024 for Wayne, but he's not going to be out of work for long. He'll be offered punditry work straight away and there's interest from Sky in a potential long-term deal to tie him down as a pundit.

"Wayne still harbours ambitions of making it as a manager. But, like Gary Neville, it might end up being the case that he can carve out a more successful and lucrative career as a pundit rather than as a manager in the dugout."

At worst, Rooney should at least be good for a quote about what the hell's going on at former club Manchester United, with so many other high-profile figures associated with the club wading in on their demise. Now that he's free from the neutral shackles of management, he can properly articulate what he feels.

During the final weeks of Rooney's Plymouth tenure, his wife, Coleen, was busy winning over the hearts of the nation on reality TV show I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here. She finished second to McFly's Danny Jones, yet still managed to boost her and her family's standing in the public domain, painting Wayne as a quiet romantic and a gentle soul.

Coleen opening up to the world, particularly off the back of the Wagatha Christie scandal with Rebekah Vardy, proved an endearing exercise and potentially a fruitful one as well. Regarding the possibility of a streaming service working with the Rooneys on a new behind-the-scenes documentary, a source told Closer: "Coleen is at the centre of a huge bidding war between all the networks and streaming services who are desperate to sign her up. ITV are the frontrunners to get her for Loose Women and she would love to do it, but Netflix are now coming in with some big-money offers – we're talking offers of well over £1m. Coleen has shown that she’s a very good listener and people open up to her, so they want to capitalise on that.

"The nation is obsessed with hearing about life inside the Rooney mansion and they want to see her in her day-to-day life and find out what really goes on. Although Wayne doesn't enjoy that side of fame, he would be up for it as he's done it before and, if Coleen agrees, he knows it's a good idea.

"Even though she did her documentary with Disney+, Coleen doesn't have a contract with them, and Netflix and the others would all love to do a reality show with all the family."

Leaving Plymouth will, first and foremost, allow Rooney to spend more time with Coleen and his children again. Down in Devon, he is said to have made trips back up north once a week to see the family in their Cheshire home - a gruelling endeavour and undoubtedly even more so considering the Pilgrims' atrocious form for most of the season.

Rooney has seldom had time to put himself first since retiring, heading straight into management with Derby, then jumping to D.C. United and Birmingham in quick succession. The half-year gap was the longest break he's had in his life, and now might be the perfect time for some further reflection.

With four young children to look after, it's also been speculated Wayne could 'play second fiddle' to Coleen should she decide now is the time to make good on her own fame.

After all, Rooney might not have a choice but to spend a little bit of time away from the game. His reputation is in tatters and even a period of absence to make that nostalgic heart grow fonder might not be enough to save it. Plymouth were derided for hiring him in the first place, so there's little chance of securing another such job anytime soon without widespread ridicule.

The competitor in Rooney, one of the best footballers to play for England and Manchester United, will want another crack. Then again, he'll still want another and another and another after. He should save himself the time, head down another road and admit defeat - there really isn't any shame in not being that good a manager, is there?