ROY KEANE'S car had barely screeched through the electronic gates of his Cheshire mansion on Thursday afternoon when Sam Allardyce made a very public pitch for the job the Irishman left.
At around the same time, Phil Brown reaffirmed his commitment to Hull City but, nonetheless, remained high in the betting to become Sunderland's next boss.
Brown spent several years assisting Allardyce at Bolton Wanderers and the two remain close confidants. All the indications are Hull's manager will stay loyal to Humberside while backing his old friend's candidature but Brown would hardly be human if a little part of him did not scream "right job, wrong time".
During a board meeting on Thursday night, Quinn and his co-directors opened a debate on precisely who might be capable of stepping into Keane's still smouldering shoes but resolved not to rush into a decision.
Among the names already in the frame is that of Gordon Strachan. Despite claiming the contrary, Strachan may feel he has taken Celtic as far as he can and would offer Sunderland some of the edgy, quirky factor afforded by Keane. Then there is Dick Advocaat, the experienced Dutch coach who has done such a good job at Zenit St Petersburg, and David O'Leary who played with Quinn at Arsenal and for Ireland.
O'Leary's stock has plunged dramatically since he led Leeds to the Champions League semi-finals and kept Aston Villa treading Premier League water but the brand of high-tempo, often highly fluent football his teams tried to play would suit the squad Keane built.
Sunderland's former manager demanded good passing and movement and believed the modern game should not necessarily be all about height and athleticism.
Allardyce harbours rather different, much more pragmatic, views but boasts an impressive track record of working with awkward players at Bolton and would surely soon have El Hadji Diouf, whom he lured to the Reebok, and Pascal Chimbonda eating out of his hand.
A former Sunderland centre-half, Allardyce is not only very much available having been out of work since his sacking by Newcastle 11 months ago but previously rejected an approach from Quinn before Keane's appointment in 2006.
Back then, Sunderland were a Championship club and "Big Sam" was hyped as the next England manager but their respective fortunes have since altered significantly.
With the recession biting on Wearside and attendances dropping, Quinn will be well aware he cannot afford a return to the dour football which preceded Keane's arrival.
Allardyce's well-organised teams are noted for being effective, but not exactly pleasing on the eye. The former Bolton supremo, however, is not too concerned by aesthetics and may not be keen to accommodate the small and stocky Andy Reid, Sunderland's best, most improvisational, passer and a crowd favourite.
He also bought badly at Newcastle while assembling an overblown backroom team. In mitigation, if the signing of Joey Barton was a huge mistake, Allardyce did wheel and deal quite brilliantly at Bolton, attracting not only Diouf but, Nicolas Anelka, Youri Djorkaeff and Ivan Campo.
Sunderland offer greater resources than Bolton do if Big Sam gets the call. But Quinn has some serious deliberating to do.
• Guardian Service
