Sunderland currently sit rock bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table.
The Mackems were defeated 1-0 by local rivals Middesbrough on Sunday, and it now leaves them with just ten points from 16 league games.
Without a manager, it's desperate times at the Stadium of Light.
Who should Sunderland appoint to bring back the good times?
We take a look...
Adam Simeoni
Karanka, but why on earth would he go there?
The Spanish boss is good enough to keep the Black Cats up, but the job is a poisoned chalice.
Sunderland will struggle to secure their top managerial targets in the next few weeks.
George Dagless
I'd get after Harry Redknapp.
Sunderland have got a real problem with confidence, not talent, and so you need a manager who is an expert in making players feel better about themselves.
Redknapp knows exactly how to do that and I think he'd guide them to survival pretty easily in the Championship if he came in.
What happens after that is anyone's guess.
Alfie Burns
What a tough call for Sunderland.
Personally, I’d go for Paul Lambert – A manager that knows the Championship, and might be able to bring some confidence to the playing squad at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland appear to be a sinking ship, and the club’s next appointment must be a manager they believe could guide them back out of League One, if they eventually suffer relegation from the Championship.
I believe Lambert could be the right man.
Chris Gallagher
If they could convince him, Aitor Karanka all day.
It seems a long shot given the state of the club, but he'd organise and get the best out of this squad. The favourites with the bookies; John O'Shea, Peter Reid, Phil Brown and Ally McCoist are completely uninspiring and should worry fans.
If they can't convince Karanka they should look down the leagues and go for a young and hungry manager. At the minute, the standout candidate would be Paul Hurst at Shrewsbury.