When Eddie Howe announced his departure from Newcastle United last week, he did something that very few managers in the modern game ever manage: he left on his own terms. That places him in a remarkably small company — one shared by Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, and the recently departed Kevin Keegan.

A rare luxury in football management

The sack has become almost inevitable for elite coaches. Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the summit of English football with a Premier League title in hand, five subsequent championship-winning managers have been dismissed — among them Claudio Ranieri, who achieved what many considered impossible by guiding Leicester City to the league, and Arne Slot, employed by a club renowned for its patience with its coaches.

Even managers who reached iconic status at their clubs have not been spared. Sir Bobby Robson, Jose Mourinho, and Marcelo Bielsa were each adored by supporters of Newcastle United, Chelsea, and Leeds United respectively — and each was ultimately forced out.

Guardiola and Klopp: leaving by choice

Guardiola has never been pushed. He stepped away from Manchester City earlier this summer of his own accord, having previously chosen to leave Barcelona after four trophy-laden years at Camp Nou, and then departing Bayern Munich voluntarily to take the City role.

Klopp's record is equally striking. His four most recent managerial exits — from Mainz 05 in 2008, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, and his advisory position at Red Bull before taking charge of the German national team — were all resignations or mutual agreements, never dismissals. Even a difficult final campaign at Dortmund could not strip him of the goodwill needed to exit on his own schedule.

Howe's pattern of self-determined exits

Howe's departure from St. James' Park follows a pattern established throughout his career. His exit from Bournemouth in 2020 — after the Cherries were relegated on the final day of a season played in lockdown — came by his own hand. Before that, in 2012, he resigned from Burnley citing personal reasons, returning to Dean Court less than two years after the Clarets had paid compensation to bring him to Turf Moor.

In each case, the decision belonged to Howe. No club has ever handed him his notice.

Keegan: a fitting tribute

Any discussion of managers never sacked must include Keegan, who passed away recently. In 1997, he declared he had taken Newcastle United as far as he could and resigned. He later stepped aside at Fulham when the England job opened in 1999, and despite the pain of Euro 2000, he famously quit himself — in the Wembley tunnel — after a 1-0 defeat to Germany. He retired from management at Manchester City in 2005, and when he returned to Newcastle United in 2008, he once again resigned — this time over a dispute with the club's hierarchy.

In an era when even the finest coaches are routinely dismissed, Howe, Guardiola, Klopp, and Keegan represent something increasingly rare: the manager who always got to write his own ending.