Ranking the candidates: Who is most likely to become Everton manager?
That's David Moyes crossed off the list.
Everton probably wasn't interested in re-hiring the antiquated Scot, but his unveiling at West Ham United should accelerate the Toffees' efforts to appoint their own full-time manager. Time is running out before Everton's international players reconvene to face Crystal Palace on Nov. 18.
Here, theScore assesses the likelihood of Everton's mooted candidates taking over on Merseyside.
6. Diego Simeone
Wishful thinking.
Sky Sports News HQ has been the chief propagandist of this story. Why would Simeone, the man who's presided over one of the greatest eras in living memory at Atletico Madrid, assume a seat at the Premier League's 15th-best club?
The Argentinian's Champions League performance and inability to capitalise on under-performing Real Madrid in La Liga suggest he's hit a glass ceiling in the Spanish capital, but his desperation to help Atleti acclimatise to its new setting of the Wanda Metropolitano saw him sign a new three-year contract in September.
The proposition of managing Wayne Rooney rather than Antoine Griezmann isn't a great sell.
5. Guus Hiddink
West London's (or, at least, Chelsea's) favourite firefighter Hiddink has been linked to the Everton job.
He's adept at taking over during dire circumstances. He first succeeded Luiz Felipe Scolari in February 2009, incredibly losing just one match for the remainder of the season and capturing the FA Cup. When he replaced Jose Mourinho in December 2015 he told The Telegraph's Julian Bennetts that Chelsea was "drowning," but it wasn't until April that he tasted a league defeat.
The Dutchman would be a quality short-term hire, plastering over the cracks until the squad's strengths and weaknesses can be addressed next summer.
4. Marco Silva
Hull City was bottom of the Premier League when Silva took over last January. But after some smart acquisitions in the transfer window, he managed to boost morale and almost find a way to keep the Tigers in the top flight for another season.
What was most impressive was how he made his instructions understood in such a short amount of time. Suddenly Hull was tactically versatile, and Silva managed to wring the best out of players such as Andy Robertson, Harry Maguire, and Oumar Niasse. That trio are still in the Premier League after thriving under Silva.
The 40-year-old is now turning Watford from a forgetful team to an entertaining challenger for the Europa League places. It's for that reason that Silva would be foolish to move into a precarious role now.
3. David Unsworth
It hasn't been a great audition for caretaker manager Unsworth.
Most efforts on goal in his first match - a 2-0 loss at Leicester City - were speculative, and his half-time tweaks were largely ineffectual. Deploying Gylfi Sigurdsson as a false nine in Lyon was disastrous. Sunday's 3-2 defeat of Watford was a frantic, entertaining affair that happened to fall in Everton's favour.
Still, the retired defender's familiarity with the club and its youth system will be seen as a plus, and he has a respected mentor in Joe Royle. A short-term contract for Unsworth would only be a slight surprise.
2. Sam Allardyce
But didn't the gun-for-hire retire?
Allardyce has actually tasted relegation - when he was in charge of Notts County - but has worked wonders at numerous clubs to retain their Premier League status. His most recent success stories at top-tier teams were with Sunderland and Crystal Palace.
Naturally, he's been rumoured as a candidate for the Everton post, and wasn't exactly evasive when quizzed on the link by talkSPORT on Tuesday.
"No, I haven't," he responded when asked if he'd been in contact with Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri. He added: "It's like everything else, if somebody comes calling, there's the opportunity to speak, there's no doubt about that."
1. Sean Dyche
It's time Dyche made his next step up the managerial ladder.
In one of the smallest towns to boast a European top-flight club, Dyche has handled small resources to further establish Burnley as a Premier League force this season.
In the 2016-17 campaign, the Clarets leant on a strong home record to ensure they would be in the top division the following term. In its latest mission, the Lancashire club stands in seventh place, and possesses over half the points that will probably be required for safety despite playing only 11 matches.
The chief criticism of Dyche is his approach - defensive, with balls lumped to attackers bearing the physique of rugby union prop forwards - but to snobbishly dismiss this when it's clearly the best way for Burnley to draw results is foolish. There's also no evidence that he wouldn't be able to adapt his methods for the players he'd inherit at Goodison Park.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)