David Moyes is a candidate for the vacant managerial position at Everton, Sky Sports News understands, after Sean Dyche was sacked on Thursday.
Dyche paid the price for Everton's just one win in their last 11 games, leaving them a point above the Premier League relegation zone in 16th place.
His sacking was confirmed just over three hours before Everton's FA Cup third round match against Peterborough, with Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman as interim replacements.
Moyes, who left West Ham at the end of last season, was manager of Everton between 2002 and 2013.
It is understood that Everton's owner, the Friedken Group – who only completed the takeover of the club last month – hopes to announce a new manager before next Wednesday's Premier League game against Aston Villa.
I'm talking to Sky Sports News in December, Moyes said: “I don't want to be in a job where I have to keep sacking and be at the bottom of the league.
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Speaking in December, David Moyes told Sky Sports News he would not consider a job at a club bottom of the Premier League.
“For most of the time I was at Everton, we were competing for European positions. Of the last four years at West Ham, three were in Europe.
“I like to think I can do the job at a level, not just avoid relegation. I'll wait for the right opportunity, and if it doesn't come, I'll be happy where I am right now.”
Moyes famously coined the phrase 'The People's Club' to describe the Blues during his first press conference as Everton manager after replacing Walter Smith in 2002.
During his 11 years at the helm, the 61-year-old Scot guided them to Champions League qualification in 2005 and the FA Cup final in 2009.
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In his first press conference as Everton manager in 2002, David Moyes called The Toffees 'the people's football club'.
Moyes was also named League Managers Association (LMA) Manager of the Year on three occasions during his time at Everton before leaving in 2013 to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
During his second spell as West Ham manager – after six months in charge in 2017/18 – he engineered success in the 2022/23 Conference League, beating Fiorentina in the final to win the club's first European silverware and their first major trophy for 43 years.
Everton's numbers reflect a downward spiral
Dyche took over at Everton in January 2023, after spending almost 10 years as Burnley boss between October 2012 and April 2022.
The Toffees survived relegation at the end of the 2022-23 season by just two points, securing a final-day victory over Bournemouth.
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Jamie Carragher describes Everton's recent Premier League struggles under Dyche
The 53-year-old then kept Everton in the top flight last season, despite the team having eight points deducted from their total for two separate breaches of the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Members of Dyche's backroom team Ian Woan, Steve Stone, Mark Howard and Billy Mercer have also left the club.
The Toffees are 16th in the Premier League and did not register a shot on goal during Saturday's match 1-0 loss to Bournemouth – their eighth league defeat of the season, and they have failed to score in eight of their last 10 games.
'Club left in limbo after slow response to weekend result'
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Sky Sports reporter Vinny O'Connor says Everton's failure to act quickly after the Bournemouth defeat has hampered their chances of appointing Graham Potter.
Sky Sports News' Vinny O'Connor at Goodison Park:
“We knew Everton's new owners were assessing the situation after the defeat at Bournemouth at the weekend. We knew they were talking to other potential replacements, particularly Graham Potter.
“Dyche has until the summer until his deal, and the ideal scenario was for a pair of safe hands to see them through the season, retain their Premier League status and then reassess in the summer.
“But recent results, one win in 11 league games, no goals in eight, means they've decided the only way to change things is with a new manager.
“The club is in limbo anyway because after the weekend against Bournemouth, the owners have not been quick to back Sean Dyche or make a decision on his future.
“That allowed West Ham to pounce on them and do a deal that was tempting enough for Graham Potter to sign for them.
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Sky Sports Alan Irwin discusses who could replace Sean Dyche as Everton manager, should the embattled boss be sacked.
“Now Everton's managerial search begins again. We know there has been unrest among the Evertons – the style of play, the lack of goals, the performance of their line in front of (Dominic) Calvert-Lewin to just two goals and 15 clean sheets.
“We had the odd situation here where the opposition manager lost his job, remember David Moyes who came back to Man Utd and lost his job shortly afterwards?
“Brendan Rodgers lost his job as Liverpool manager shortly after the Merseyside derby – but I can't remember a manager losing his job so close to the start of the game.
“It's been a bit of a drag since the weekend and that defeat at Bournemouth. Everton fans would like to see some action and some sort of determination sooner.”
'Everton could not pass up the chance of relegation'
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Sean Dyche's final words as Everton boss during the FA Cup presser where he spoke about his future on Merseyside.
Sky Sports News' Alan Myers:
“The prospect of being relegated in the first six months and starting life in our brand new stadium in the Championship next season was too great to pass up.
“Of course, that remains a concern and their choice of replacement for Dyche must be a balance between the need to look to the future, but also the need to ensure the short-term security of their Premier League status.
“The Friedkins have a huge job ahead of them, both on and off the pitch, the club has been in a state of paralysis for the past few years due to prolonged takeover drama, but it is also a club that is almost trophyless. 30 years, the longest period without silverware in to its long and glorious history.
Dyche has failed to improve Everton this season
“The decision to change managers is just the first of many big decisions that will have to be made in the coming months as TFG look to bring back the glory days of this once premier contender of the English game.”
“The fans want and expect better. Managing Everton comes with expectations that are as high as any club in the Premier League, but for a few, ask any former player or manager about the pressure of playing at a club that, before the start of the Premier League, was known as one of the 'big four'.
“Of course, it's been a long time since Everton were part of the elite and it never looked like they would add to their nine league titles in that time, but that expectation, misguided or not, never went away.
“There is a generation of fans who have not experienced success in any form, left with only a sense of anaemia, and generations before them were left bewildered by their failure to keep up with, not only the experienced big clubs, but also the newcomers who had overtaken Everton as Premier League winners. .
“Whoever takes over from Dyche has a wonderful opportunity, with a fantastic new stadium, financial stability under new owners and the prospect of a fresh start in rebuilding England's footballing institution, but only after fighting to save it from an even more pressing challenge.” .”