Rene Maric is the latest coach to be linked with a move to Sunderland.
Sunderland look to be just weeks away from appointing their new permanent manager, with Mike Dodds set to end his rein at the end of the season.
The Black Cats have previously been heavily linked with Danny Rohl, however another Bundesliga product has now emerged as a potential candidate.
Various reports have claimed that Sunderland havemade ‘contact’ with 31-year-old Rene Maric, and he could be about to take his first job in management at the Stadium of Light.
Here’s everything you need to know about him.
Who is Rene Maric?
Rene Maric is an Austrian football coach, who only turned 31 years old in September.
He is the current head coach of German side Bayern Munich U19s, having been appointed to the role just two months ago.
Maric has been coaching since the age of 17, and also studied Psychology at university – having been forced to move away from playing due to his lack of opportunities.
He also wrote for the website Spielverlagerung, which helped open up doors for consultancy and coaching roles.
Rene Maric’s coaching career
Rene Maric began coaching as a 17 year old with his local side TSU Handenberg.
He eventually struck up a friendship with Marco Rose, who was then RB Salzburg’s U18 coach. When he was 24, he was appointed as his assistant.
When Rose then took charge of the senior team in 2017, Maric followed him and became his assistant there too.
The Austrian then followed Rose to Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund, before parting ways when Maric joined Leeds United as Assistant Head Coach to Jesse Marsch in 2022.
Ten months after Marsch was sacked, Maric returned to the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, where he worked on coaching development and playing philosophy. He was then appointed as the U19s head coach in February 2024.
The Munich youngsters currently sit seventh in the Bundesliga U19 division, while he has won seven of his 12 games in charge.
What has been said about Rene Maric?
Rene Maric was flooded with praise by former Leeds United attacker Noel Whelan when he was appointed as Marsch’s assistant.
Whelan told Football Insider: “It’s about intelligence and information behind the scenes, it’s not all about spending money on players.
“This is someone who has spent a lot of time around top-quality players and successful teams. He can pass all that knowledge on and help improve these players, it’s invaluable.
“It’s not all about buying the best players for the most money. It’s about the coaching, making them better on and off the ball and mentally as well.
“It’ll give them every attribute to be successful. It’s a great signing and a massive help for the manager.”
His move to Elland Road also saw RB Leipzig fitness coach Patrick Eisenberger praise Maric.
He told The Athletic: “He can make black and white out of grey areas in a way I haven’t seen with many others.
“He can transfer his thoughts from the theoretical side to the playing side no problem.
“So while he thinks like he thinks, he can speak the players’ language. He knows what he’s talking about and he can break it down.”
Rene Maric’s socials
Rene Maric’s X account is @ReneMaric. He currently has 47.9k followers.
His Instagram is rene.maric, with 10.6k followers.