Lincoln Lincoln are presenting Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw as joint-head coaches as a continuity decision, not a stunt. Liam Scully has been clear that the club were not trying to break convention, and that the process was built around what was best for Lincoln after a promotion season that finished with 103 points and a first Championship return in over 65 years.

Why Lincoln are sold on the shared model

Scully said, "We certainly didn't start this process saying 'how do we break football convention?' - that wasn't the intention."

He also said, "The thing we continually asked ourselves through this process was 'what is best for Lincoln City?' This is above any individual, this is above the people and this isn't romantic."

That is the point Lincoln keep returning to. Scully said the decision felt quick from the outside because of the preparation already in place, and that Cohen and Shaw had beaten external candidates to the role. He added that decisions of this kind are now often "data-led and often scenario-planned" rather than based on gut feeling.

How the timing shaped the appointment

The timing matters because Bristol City triggered Michael Skubala's release clause before Lincoln moved to promote his assistants. Scully said the club had a low-key succession process under way before Skubala's departure was confirmed, which is why the change was able to move quickly once the opening appeared.

That makes Lincoln's choice look less like improvisation and more like succession planning that had already been mapped out. Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw had both worked as assistants under Skubala, regularly taking training sessions and meetings, so the club were not asking two strangers to build the structure from scratch.

There is a comparison point here, and it is not a flattering one for anyone expecting a novelty. Liverpool's joint-boss experiment in 1998 is the obvious reference, but Lincoln are not pitching this as a copy or a gamble for its own sake. They are pitching it as the least disruptive way to carry a successful group into a higher division.

The bigger test comes next, when Lincoln try to turn a well-organised handover into a workable Championship setup. For now, the club's public line is plain enough, this is about keeping the same methods in place after 103 points and a long-awaited return to the Championship.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →