Ranking Every Indian Head Coach by Their ISL Tenure

This ISL list includes coaches like Khalid Jamil, Renedy Singh.

Since the inception of the Indian Super League (ISL) in 2014, the league has heavily been dominated by foreign coaches with only a few Indian managers getting the opportunity to lead teams as head coach on a permanent basis. However, multiple Indian coaches have served as caretaker/interim coaches, very few have had the chance to lead the senior team on a long-term basis.

However, over the last few seasons, especially from the 2020s, Indian coaches have gradually been given this opportunity with the club management showing their trust on them.

In this article, we rank the Indian head coaches in ISL history based on their term.

5. Renedy Singh (Bengaluru FC: 2025-26)

Renedy Singh is not a new name in Indian football and ISL. Renedy began his coaching career when he served as the assistant manager of ISL club Pune City FC in the 2015-16 season.

He later went on to manage clubs like Neroca FC and Sagolband. His return in ISL was in the 2020-21 season when he was appointed the assistant manager of East Bengal FC. In the 2021-22 season Renedy took charge of the Torchbearers as their caretaker manager for 3 games, however he wasn’t the permanent head coach.

He later joined Bengaluru FC in 2023-24 as assistant manager and also looked after the youth teams multiple times. It was in 2025-26 season that Renedy Singh took charge as the head coach of Bengaluru FC for 7 games before getting replaced by Pep Munoz mid-season.

Renedy’s stint as the head coach in 2025-26 was impressive as he managed to get 2 points per match (PPM), however he was given the responsibility to manage the Bengaluru FC youth teams as soon as Pep Munoz arrived.

4. Derrick Pereira (FC Goa: 2021-22)

Derrick Pereira brings a lot of experience of coaching in Indian football. He has managed multiple clubs like Vasco SC Goa, Mahindra United, Pune FC, Salgaocar FC, Churchil Brother etc.

Derrick joined FC Goa in 2017-18 as academy manager before becoming the assistant manager and later taking charge as the technical director of the club.

Derrick Pereira served as the head coach of FC Goa in the 2021-22 season and was accompanied by assistant manager Clifford Miranda. He now serves as the technical director of Gokulam Kerala FC.

3. Clifford Miranda (Chennaiyin FC: 2025-26)

Clifford Miranda is a known figure in Indian football and has been part of multiple ISL clubs’ coaching set up.

Clifford Miranda joined FC Goa as the assistant manager in the 2019-20 season after working their youth teams. He took charge of the Gaurs for 5 games as the caretaker manager. He later served as the assistant manager and caretaker manager of Odisha FC before moving to Mohun Bagan SG as the assistant head.

Clifford was appointed as Chennaiyin FC’s permanent head coach in the 2025-26 season and has managed 13 games for the Marina Machans in ISL so far. Despite not getting good results last season, Clifford is also set to continue with Chennaiyin FC as their head coach.

2. Thangboi Singto (Hyderabad FC: 2023-24 to 2024-25)

Thangboi Singto is currently serving as the Head of football operations at East Bengal FC. Thangboi has managed Shillong Lajong and served as the assistant manager at Kerala Blasters FC, Odisha FC before becoming the technical director of Hyderabad FC.

In the 2023-24 season Thangboi took charge of Hyderabad FC as their head coach and managed the Nizams for 33 ISL games till the 2024-25 season, however his stint wasn’t a successful one as he only managed to grab 15 points from those games.

1. Khalid Jamil (NorthEast United FC: 2021-22, Jamshedpur FC: 2023-24 to 2024-25)

Khalid Jamil is often considered the most successful Indian head coach in ISL history and the only one to serve as the Indian head coach of multiple ISL clubs.

The current India coach has managed clubs like Mumbai FC, Aizawl FC, East Bengal FC etc. He joined ISL when he arrived at NorthEast United FC in 2018-19 as the head of academy coaching. He also served as the assistant coach under Croatian Robert Jarni and Spaniard Gerard Nus.

It was the 2020-21 season that he created his magic at NorthEast United FC as a caretaker manager taking over from Gerard Nus. He turned the Highlanders’ season and helped them reach their first ISL playoff.

He was rewarded for this and took over as the head coach of NorthEast United in the 2021-22 season, however this time he could not replicate the same magic at NorthEast.

His second stint came at Jamshedpur FC in 2023-24 season. Under Khalid Jamil, Jamshedpur FC made the playoffs and did very well throughout as he managed overall 51 games as the Jamshedpur FC manager before taking over the charge as the Indian national team head coach.

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