Big Rotherham United call that coincided with Steve Evans' return was a huge mistake | OneFootball

Millers mistake in scrapping Director of Football role led to current downward spiral

Matt Taylor was dismissed after a dismal start to the 2023/2024 Championship season for Rotherham United, which saw his side pick-up two wins in 16 games, leaving them four points adrift in the relegation places.

Following an embarrassing defeat against rivals Sheffield Wednesday and a humiliating result against Watford, Chairman Tony Stewart acted and decided to dismiss the man who had kept the Millers up the season prior.

What followed was nothing short of abysmal for the club hierarchy as it took them a further four weeks to appoint Taylor’s replacement. Reported talks with Gary Rowett, Chris Wilder and the more documented Nathan Jones had all fallen through and the man to take the hot seat was former Wigan Athletic manager Leam Richardson.

Except there was a twist to this.

Taylor's exit sparks Director of Football model

Richardson came in as “head coach”, a significant change in role definition, as the following week, it was announced that the current Head of Recruitment, Rob Scott, was to act in a dual role as both the Head of Recruitment and the newly created Director of Football role.

For those unaware, a Director of Football role is a form of modernisation for football clubs transitioning. It is the overseer of all operations off the pitch – player recruitment, youth team development, long-term strategy and overall alignment of philosophy on the pitch to be replicated off it.

This is a modern and recent phenomenon that many top-level clubs have adopted as a form of synergy across the football club.

Rotherham appointed their Director of Football role for, in their words, a culture shift.

This is a positive change – it showed initiative from the Championship club to formulate, develop, and maintain a philosophy that can impact them both on and off the pitch, regardless of manager.

Rotherham ended up finishing rock bottom and being relegated, almost beating their own record of lowest points in a Championship season along the way.

This was enough for Stewart as he dismissed Richardson with three games still to play and hired an old face in Steve Evans, who himself had seen his Stevenage side narrowly miss out on the play-offs in an extraordinary season for the Boro.

In his appointment of Evans, also came the title “manager” back to the man in the dugout. Abolished was the Director of Football status and Rob Scott was demoted back to his singular role of Head of Recruitment.

As for the reasoning behind this, Stewart explained they found Scott's "title was not right so we adjusted it” and therefore was demoted from this position.

Why this was a step backwards for the Millers

For many clubs, the Director of Football position has worked. Manchester City and Arsenal are two prime examples of where the work off the pitch has impacted results on it. To sort out the foundations for a club is to invest in a long-term strategy and that is exactly what these two clubs have done.

For Rotherham, the strategy for its transition, and the philosophy of the club, wasn’t explained to fans, but what was happening on the pitch was there for all to see.

Results would have seen many clubs part company with their manager, but the hierarchy held firm and backed the manager and strategy.

Devising, implementing and maintaining a long-term strategy takes, well, time.

What is understandable is the board believing Evans to be a better fit to drive this transition, to be a figurehead for their philosophy. Or they have reasoning behind demoting Scott, potentially with a view of hiring externally and bringing in new ideas behind this long-term strategy.

This begs the questions from supporters then as to why not only was Evans brought in as “manager”, but why Scott was also demoted from his dual position – could the Millers have really been in such a tough spot that they needed to completely revamp the revamp they had undertaken four months prior?

This is why the decision to backtrack on a positive state of mind and club decision is a mistake for the Millers – there is a distinct lack of identity throughout the core of the club which is showing in performances on the pitch.

The move smells distinctly like desperation.

Statistics correct as of writing*

How has the decision ultimately impacted Rotherham

At the time of writing, Rotherham find themselves 14th in a very below-par season that fans, players and especially the manager were expecting. As stated by the manager before a ball was kicked, Rotherham were favourites for promotion – be it via the play-offs or the ideal automatic route.

Evans stated that Rotherham “will be there” in reference to the play-offs. A statement that has failed to materialise as attendance figures have dropped exponentially as the season has progressed.

Little emotion and identity on the pitch has correlated with fans becoming less and less connected with the club and community they closely align as family.

Could a Director of Football have fixed this? Could a philosophy and identity have stemmed the inevitable disaster that had followed?

These are questions the board at Rotherham should be asking themselves in the ideal moment to assess their position.

It can be argued that a Director of Football would not have affected performances on the pitch. How could they?

But the bigger answer to this is that a foundation would be set in place – a style of football, a dedicated, targeted recruitment system, a promising youth set-up, and even the potential for a better-equipped training facility.

Now, the performances on the pitch may have remained similar, potentially even worse, but the foundations that would be set out would be promising. A distinct style of football would allow recruitment to accurately set out on players that will improve the squad. Youth players could be integrated and either used or sold on for a higher profit than they would have otherwise, and better training facilities would facilitate the training capabilities and attract players previously seen as unattainable.

This is not an immediate fix, nor is it an immediate answer to the question – there would be mistakes made in the process and the club may still have had similar performances on the pitch.

But, because of not sticking with the original revamp, there is no identity, and there is no foundation in place. The 2024 summer transfer window for Rotherham saw them operate wages the highest they have ever been, with an older squad, and all players on a two-year or one-year contract.

Players were signed for an immediate fix, with no long-term vision in sight. A two-year deal yields little to no profit or monetary reward from players due to the current market operating on waiting for contracts to expire – as Rotherham themselves did.

The short-term structure and ultimate failure is what is dragging the fanbase down – the lack of excitement, the absence of an identity on the pitch and with little future on the horizon has caused the numbers to dwindle.

What Rotherham need to do to correct this

Again, there is no easy answer to the current state Rotherham United find themselves in both on and off the pitch. But there is one certainty: the process will require time.

A transition requires time, a long-term strategy and a collective vision. Identity needs to be established, and a philosophy created.

Players, managers and senior staff can come or go – they may be the right fit, or they may not. But overall, the club needs to find a direction, a path, and stick to it.

With contract negotiations currently non-existent and many players' current contracts expiring in the summer of 2026, this gives Rotherham at least a year to establish the next steps.

This is a patient procedure and one that requires a lot of cohesive effort and vision to make it happen.

A Director of Football would work perfectly for next steps in the current process and appointing them now gives them a year to settle, formulate, and implement the foundations for the club to follow and maintain for the following years.

It is crucial that the Millers work towards finding the right man to take on this role, as these next steps are crucial in the future of the football club.

This decision will get fans back onside if they can see the vision and how it is being implemented on the pitch and behind the scenes.