After ending his playing career at
Peterborough United, Boothroyd was appointed coach of the Under 17, Under 19 and reserve teams at the club. His tactical nous and drive impressed, and he left Peterborough in 2001 to join
Norwich City as their youth team coach under
Nigel Worthington. After two years at
Carrow Road, Boothroyd assumed the positions of Youth Development Officer and Technical Director at
West Bromwich Albion, joining in October 2003. A short spell at
The Hawthorns ended, when he was appointed first-team coach at
Leeds United in July 2004,
Watford Boothroyd was appointed manager of
Watford in March 2005 at the age of 34. The board backed their decision despite initial scepticism by Watford fans and the club entered a new era under Boothroyd. He managed to steer the club clear of relegation, with 1–0 victories over
Stoke City and
Rotherham United. At the beginning of the
2005–06 season, Boothroyd said that his aim for the forthcoming campaign would be promotion to the
Premier League, although many pundits regarded the club as likely to be relegated. As the season progressed, though, the side gained more and more confidence, and finished in third place to secure a place in the play-offs. After overcoming
Crystal Palace in the two-legged semi-final, Watford beat
Leeds United 3–0 in the final to secure promotion to the Premier League. The rapid improvement in Watford's results in his first season in charge led to Boothroyd winning the Championship Manager of the Month in February 2006. Boothroyd continued as Watford manager for the duration of the
2006–07 season, but Watford finished 20th and were relegated. Nevertheless, they reached the
FA Cup semi-finals, and Boothroyd was awarded a new three-year contract. In July 2006, he completed his UEFA Pro Licence in coaching. A good start to the
2007–08 season saw Watford twelve points clear at the top of the Championship after nineteen games. Boothroyd was named Championship Manager of the Month for October 2007 after Watford maintained a 100% record. However, their form dropped in the second half of the season, and Boothroyd was criticised for his team selections,
direct style of play and dealings in the transfer market. One win in thirteen going into the last game of the season saw Watford in danger of missing out on a play-off spot altogether but a 1–1 draw against
Blackpool was enough to secure sixth place on goal difference ahead of
Wolverhampton Wanderers. In their play-off semi-final against
Hull City Watford lost 2–0 at
Vicarage Road and 4–1 at the
KC Stadium. After missing out on an immediate return to Premier League, Boothroyd announced his intention to re-build the side for the following season, and also change the team's style of play. However, he left Watford by mutual consent on 3 November 2008, after a home defeat to Blackpool.
Colchester United On 2 September 2009, Boothroyd was announced as the new manager of League One side
Colchester United, succeeding
Paul Lambert. In his first game as Colchester boss the team drew 0–0 with
Southampton and the team won five of the first nine games in his charge. The first defeat came in his 10th game in a 2–1 defeat to
Millwall. His first signing as Colchester boss was the loan of
John-Joe O'Toole and his first permanent signing was
Kayode Odejayi. O'Toole was subsequently signed on a permanent basis and he also signed
David Prutton from Leeds United,
Ian Henderson from
Ankaragücü and Morten Knudsen from Norway. Boothroyd added another loan signing with
Franck Queudrue arriving on loan from
Birmingham City. Colchester, under Boothroyd, were in the top 6 for over half of the campaign. However, a poor run of form towards the end of the season which saw them win only 2 games of their last 14 games, and this saw them drop just outside the play-offs and finish in 8th position in League One. On 20 May 2010, Boothroyd left the club to take over Championship side
Coventry City.
Coventry City On 20 May 2010, Boothroyd was announced as the new manager of Championship side
Coventry City, succeeding
Chris Coleman. His first game in charge was on 7 August, in which Boothroyd led Coventry City to an opening day victory over
Portsmouth with both goals from
Freddy Eastwood. On 14 March 2011, Boothroyd was sacked by Coventry City after a run of poor results, which saw the club win only once in sixteen league games.
Northampton Town Boothroyd was appointed as manager of
Northampton Town on 30 November 2011 on a one-year, rolling contract. Northampton had slipped to the foot of the
League Two table, and six points from safety, before Boothroyd guided them to a 20th-place finish in the
2011–12 season. In the
2012–13 season, Northampton finished 6th, making the playoffs with 73 points. They beat
Cheltenham Town 2-0 (on aggregate) in the two-legged semi-finals before losing 3–0 to
Bradford City in the final at Wembley on 18 May 2013. On 21 December 2013, Boothroyd was sacked by Northampton after a 4–1 defeat by
Wycombe Wanderers. The club were bottom of
League Two.
England youth teams On 28 February 2014, Boothroyd was appointed manager of the
England national under-20 football team, but was replaced the following year in a reshuffle that saw him coach the
under-19 side instead. He was re-appointed under-20s manager in August 2016, with
Keith Downing taking charge of the under-19s. Boothroyd was named caretaker manager of the
England national under-21 football team, after
Gareth Southgate was named interim manager of the
senior team. He would manage the side for their remaining
2017 UEFA Euro Championship qualifiers against
Kazakhstan and
Bosnia and Herzegovina. and the second, a 5–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 9 June 2018, Boothroyd managed England to success at the
2018 Toulon Tournament, beating
Mexico 2–1 in the final. On 16 April 2021, Boothroyd announced he would leave his role with
The FA to focus on a return to club football.
Northern Ireland On 17 May 2022 it was confirmed that Boothroyd would join
Northern Ireland's coaching staff on a short-term basis due to the absence of
Adam Sadler.
Jamshedpur On 10 July 2022, Boothroyd was appointed as head coach of
Jamshedpur. He said: "Jamshedpur FC are the Champions of India currently and the city has a tremendous football legacy. We want to continue this upward trajectory and make the club reach places and win honours that our fans are dreaming of. We want to take the club to the next level and to compete really with the top teams of Asia." ==Personal life==