Former Sunderland coach Mark McCormick has explained why he ended up leaving the club just a year into a three-year deal at the Stadium of Light.
Kicker have an interview with the former Sunderland coach today. He explains why he ended up leaving the North East prematurely.
McCormick served as the Head of Coach Development at Sunderland between 2017 and 2018. He was appointed in September that year to lead the development of coaches within the Black Cats’ academy service.
He had joined Australian club Northern Tigers FC, where he had been first team manager. His time at Sunderland would only last a year, though.
Instead, he found himself in the middle of one of the most turbulent times in Sunderland’s history. That season saw a high turnover of first-team managers, including Simon Grayson and Chris Coleman, which ultimately saw them relegated to League One.
That was all detailed in full during the first season of Netflix’s drama Sunderland ‘Til I Die. That occasionally showed the academy work at the Stadium of Light, although McCormick did not feature personally.
His departure was a part of the chaos but ultimately the smart one for him. Since his exit, he’s established a significant coaching career in Austria, progressing from youth development to several high-level assist management roles in the Austrian Bundesliga and Second League.
Why Sunderland was a mixed bag
McCormick is now assistant manager at SKN St. Pölten, where he achieved his UEFA Pro Licence in late November 2025.
That’s most the focus of his interview with Kicker, but they couldn’t resist asking about Sunderland anyway.
“The job in Sunderland was fantastic,” he said.
“The whole city is behind this working-class club. In the Championship, we usually had 40,000 spectators. But it was utter chaos, as anyone can see in the documentary Sunderland ‘Til I Die.
“That’s why I quit after a year, despite having a three-year contract. And I also wanted to get back on the pitch myself and not just watch other people all the time. Thankfully, Cem (Sekerlioglu) took me back at Austria Vienna.”