The following is a list of managers of Aberdeen F.C. since its foundation in 1903. As of February 2024, Aberdeen have had 26 full-time managers, including joint managers.
The most successful Aberdeen manager is Sir Alex Ferguson, who won three Scottish Premier Division titles, four Scottish Cup trophies, one Scottish League Cup, one European Cup Winners' Cup and one UEFA Super Cup in an eight-year spell at the club.
Entries in italics are caretaker managers.
Only competitive league & cup matches are counted. [1] As of 02 December 2024.
| From | To | Name | P | W | D | L | F | A | Win % | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 1924 |  Jimmy Philip | 644 | 221 | 172 | 251 | 817 | 883 | 34% | [2] |
| 1924 | 1937 | Paddy Travers | 474 | 214 | 106 | 154 | 916 | 732 | 45% | [3] |
| 1937 | 1955 | Dave Halliday | 371 | 165 | 71 | 135 | 731 | 602 | 44% | [4] |
| 1955 | 1959 | Davie Shaw | 148 | 66 | 20 | 62 | 316 | 280 | 45% | [5] |
| 1959 | 1965 | Tommy Pearson | 180 | 67 | 42 | 71 | 328 | 341 | 37% | [6] |
| 1965 | 1971 | Eddie Turnbull | 214 | 100 | 42 | 72 | 386 | 278 | 47% | [7] |
| 1971 | 1975 | Jimmy Bonthrone | 143 | 67 | 46 | 30 | 264 | 143 | 47% | [8] |
| 1975 | 1975 | George Murray | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 50% | [9] |
| 1975 | 1977 | Ally MacLeod | 61 | 24 | 19 | 18 | 89 | 72 | 39% | [10] |
| 1977 | 1978 | Billy McNeill | 36 | 22 | 9 | 5 | 68 | 29 | 61% | [11] |
| 1978 | 1986 | Alex Ferguson | 288 | 167 | 71 | 50 | 564 | 229 | 58% | [12] |
| 1986 | 1986 | Alex Ferguson Archie Knox | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 25 | 14 | 47% | |
| 1986 | 1986 | Archie Knox | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | [13] |
| 1986 | 1988 | Ian Porterfield | 72 | 35 | 27 | 10 | 94 | 40 | 49% | [14] |
| 1988 | 1991 | Alex Smith Jocky Scott | 117 | 63 | 35 | 19 | 181 | 89 | 54% | [15] |
| 1991 | 1992 | Alex Smith | 23 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 34 | 31 | 30% | [16] |
| 1992 | 1995 | Willie Miller | 124 | 53 | 45 | 26 | 182 | 111 | 43% | [17] |
| 1995 | 1997 | Roy Aitken | 99 | 35 | 27 | 37 | 125 | 139 | 35% | [18] |
| 1997 | 1997 |  Keith Burkinshaw | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0% | [19] |
| 21 Nov 1997 | 1 Nov 1998 | Alex Miller | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 39 | 52 | 26% | [20] |
| 1 Jan 1999 | 24 May 1999 | Paul Hegarty | 19 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 28 | 43 | 37% | [21] |
| 1 July 1999 | 29 November 2002 |  Ebbe Skovdahl | 130 | 40 | 31 | 59 | 157 | 214 | 31% | [22] |
| 2002 | 2002 | Gardner Speirs | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0% | [23] |
| 11 Dec 2002 | 24 May 2004 | Steve Paterson | 57 | 18 | 11 | 28 | 62 | 86 | 32% | [24] |
| 1 June 2004 | 24 May 2009 | Jimmy Calderwood | 190 | 79 | 49 | 62 | 236 | 214 | 42% | [25] |
| 1 July 2009 | 1 Dec 2010 | Mark McGhee | 53 | 13 | 12 | 28 | 51 | 83 | 24% | [26] |
| 1 Dec 2010 | 10 Dec 2010 | Neil Cooper Neil Simpson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0% | [27] |
| 10 Dec 2010 | 6 Apr 2013 | Craig Brown | 93 | 27 | 29 | 37 | 98 | 107 | 29% | [28] |
| 6 Apr 2013 | 8 Mar 2021 | Derek McInnes | 295 | 157 | 60 | 78 | 434 | 303 | 53% | [29] |
| 8 Mar 2021 | 23 Mar 2021 | Paul Sheerin | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 50% | [30] |
| 23 Mar 2021 | 13 Feb 2022 | Stephen Glass | 29 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 33 | 39 | 31% | [31] |
| 13 Feb 2022 | 19 Feb 2022 | Barry Robson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0% | [32] |
| 19 Feb 2022 | 28 Jan 2023 |  Jim Goodwin | 35 | 11 | 7 | 17 | 45 | 56 | 31% | [33] |
| 29 Jan 2023 | 31 Jan 2024 | Barry Robson | 36 | 15 | 7 | 14 | 45 | 50 | 42% | [34] |
| 31 Jan 2024 | 5 Feb 2024 | Peter Leven | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | [35] |
| 5 Feb 2024 | 9 Mar 2024 | Neil Warnock | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 0% | [36] |
| 17 Jun 2024 | Present |  Jimmy Thelin | 33 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 55 | 41 | 51% | |
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and has won more trophies (49) than any other manager in the history of football. Ferguson is often credited for valuing youth during his time with Manchester United, particularly in the 1990s with the "Class of '92", who contributed to making the club one of the richest and most successful in the world.
Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the Scottish Premiership and have never been relegated from the top division of the Scottish football league system since they were elected to the top flight in 1905. Aberdeen have won four Scottish league titles, seven Scottish Cups and six Scottish League Cups. They are also the only Scottish team to have won two European trophies, having won the European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup in 1983.
Neil Warnock is an English football manager and former player who is currently football advisor at Torquay United. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed sixteen different clubs from the Premier League to non-league. Within English football, he holds the record for the most promotions, with eight, and the most games as a professional manager, with 1626, beating the previous record of 1601 set by Dario Gradi.
Alexander McLeish is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defender for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps for Scotland.
James Leighton is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Leighton started his career with Aberdeen, where he won seven domestic trophies and the 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup under the management of Alex Ferguson. Ferguson then signed Leighton for Manchester United in 1988, but dropped him after he conceded three goals in the 1990 FA Cup Final. Leighton then had spells with Arsenal, Reading, Dundee and Sheffield United, and rebuilt his career after joining Hibernian in 1993. He returned to Aberdeen in 1997, leading to a career total of over 600 appearances in the league alone.
William Ferguson Miller MBE is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, who made a club record 560 league appearances for Aberdeen. Sir Alex Ferguson described Miller as "the best penalty box defender in the world".
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James Forrest was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a striker for Rangers, Preston, Aberdeen and Hong Kong Rangers.
Barry Gordon George Robson is a Scottish football coach and former player, who is the manager of Scottish Championship club Raith Rovers. Robson played as a midfielder for several clubs in Scotland, England and Canada and represented Scotland internationally.
John Eric Black is a Scottish former professional football player and coach. Black played as a striker for Aberdeen and Metz, winning major trophies with both clubs, and earned two international caps for the Scotland national team. He was forced to retire from playing at a relatively early age and became a coach, working as a manager at Motherwell and Coventry City.
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Peter Russell Weir is a Scottish former footballer, best known for his time with Aberdeen, who played as a winger.
Peter McDonald Leven is a Scottish football coach and former player who is currently a first team coach for Aberdeen, Leven also recently spent time as Caretaker of Aberdeen. Leven played as a midfielder for Kilmarnock, Chesterfield, Milton Keynes Dons and Oxford United. He made over 300 career appearances and represented Scotland at the under-21 level.
Douglas Keith Bell is a Scottish former professional footballer.
William Garner, also known as Willie Garner is a Scottish former footballer best known for playing for Aberdeen. He is now a manager, mainly of clubs in the junior ranks of Scottish football.
The Aberdeen–Rangers rivalry refers to football matches and related activity involving the Scottish football clubs Aberdeen and Rangers.
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