Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill has been strongly linked to take over at Goodison Park in the wake of Everton's continuing poor form.
The Toffees were hammered 4-1 at Southampton on Sunday following on from their woeful 5-1 home defeat at the hands of Atalanta in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Merseyside club currently sit two points above the relegation zone, having won only three league games so far this season.
Despite a massive outlay in the summer on players such as Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jordan Pickford, the club struggled to integrate the new signings into the team and sacked Ronald Koeman in October.
David Unsworth took over in a caretaker capacity, but recent results mean it looks unlikely he will be offered the role on a permanent basis.
Given the uncertainty with O'Neill's contract situation with the FAI, Everton might even be able to get the former Aston Villa boss for free.
Although the FAI announced that O'Neill had agreed to stay on ahead of the World Cup play-off with Denmark - there has been no formal public presentation, as Irish Independent football correspondent Dan McDonnell acknowledged on Off the Ball's Sunday Paper Review a couple of weeks back.
O'Neill's most successful stint as a club manager came when he took over at Celtic in June 2000 and led the struggling Glasgow giants to their first domestic treble in over 30 years.
In five seasons at Celtic Park - he won three league titles, three Scottish Cups and a League Cup. He also guided them to the final of the 2003 UEFA Cup final where they lost to 3-2 against Porto.
Despite leading Ireland to the European Championships in France in 2016, O'Neill may feel now is the time to move on after the 5-1 humbling at the hands of Denmark in the World Cup play-offs.
Should he move on, there are a range of interesting candidates in position to take over from him including Roy Keane, Stephen Kenny and possibly even Michael O'Neill. Although the latter has been approached by Scotland, he recently said he was taking time to consider his future.
If Martin O'Neill is the man to get the job, what do the two parties actually have to offer each other?
It's rather obvious on the Ireland manager's part. He can walk away from the criticism he has received despite nearly taking Ireland to their first world cup in 16 years, and make a return to the most publicised league in the world. Presumably, he would also get a wage that is similar or better to the one he earns now.
For Everton, it seems to make less sense. O'Neill's last stint in the Premier League was in 2013, nearly half a decade ago now, and while he was seen as a safe pair of hands then, the league has significantly changed in the interim.
He may be able to steady the ship in time to keep them from getting dragged into a real relegation battle, but that is an extremely short term goal.
Since David Moyes left the club to head to Manchester United, Everton have been managed by Roberto Martinez and Ronald Koeman. Both play a completely different style to the one that Moyes employed at Goodison, a style which did not sit well with the Old Trafford crowd.
Simply "staying in the league" is no longer enough for most clubs, and even the sides that have been promoted in the time since O'Neill last managed in the English top flight are concentrating on creating a style of football for their team.
Eddie Howe and David Wagner are not exactly known for their defensive tactics, and neither club are currently sitting in the bottom three. Moyes, Paul Clement and Roy Hodgson are.
Everton have clearly followed a long-term strategy in hiring their last two managers, not to mention the summer spending spree they went on, packing their side with creative midfielders.
The style that squad is suited to playing is not one that Martin O'Neill looked able to instil in his Irish side, an issue which has been highlighted with increasing frequency since the end of the Euros.
Jeff Hendrick now looks incapable of an accurate pass in a green jersey, despite impressing hugely in France and connecting well with Irish team-mates under Sean Dyche at Burnley.
O'Neill's record in the transfer market suggests that he won't be looking to add more guile to the Merseyside team in the January window if he gets the job and, perhaps more importantly, if Farhad Moshiri decides to fund the moves the Ireland manager would want.
The appointment of O'Neill would appear to run contrary to what the club have been trying to achieve since 2013, when Moyes left and they decided to make a clean break with a style of football that was about not losing the point they started the game with, rather than pushing for the three on offer.
O'Neill can clearly motivate a team and an individual player to give their best in a particular fixture, but Everton's long term plan requires a manager who has a short-term one that he can get across to the squad as quickly as possible.
If what former players have been saying about O'Neill's tactics (or lack thereof) are to be believed, there won't be an emphasis on formation or tactics for a particular opposition. If that didn't work well against Denmark (or Belgium last summer), it's unlikely to prove a fruitful tactic against sides who have been drilled on the smallest details.
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