Early career Zorniger started his coaching career with stints as head coach of
Normannia Gmünd, assistant coach at
VfB Stuttgart, and as head coach at
Sonnenhof Großaspach.
RB Leipzig Zorniger became head coach of
RB Leipzig on 3 July 2012. He managed the club to an undefeated season in all competitions. They finished the league season with 21 wins and 9 draws and went on to the promotion play–off; winning the first leg 2–0 and drawing the second leg 2–2.
Back to VfB Stuttgart On 25 May 2015,
VfB Stuttgart announced in a press conference that Zorniger would be their new head coach and signed a deal with the Swabians until Summer 2018. He was sacked on 24 November 2015 after Stuttgart lost to
FC Augsburg 4–0. He finished with a record of five wins, one draw, and nine losses.
Brøndby On 17 May 2016,
Danish Superliga club
Brøndby IF announced that Zorniger had been appointed head coach on a two-year contract. He made his competitive debut on 30 June with a 4–1 away win over Icelandic side
Valur in the first qualifying round of the
UEFA Europa League, and Brøndby won the home leg 6–0 to advance 10–1 on aggregate. On 17 July 2016, Zorniger oversaw his
Superliga debut, a 4–0 home win against
Esbjerg fB. In the third qualifying round of the Europa League Brøndby eliminated
Hertha BSC 3–2 on aggregate, overturning a 1–0 first-leg defeat in Berlin with a 3–1 victory at home. On 21 August Brøndby defeated
AGF 7–0 at
Ceres Park, the heaviest defeat in AGF's Superliga history, and a 1–1 home draw against rivals
FC Copenhagen later that month sent Brøndby into the first international break of the season at the top of the table on goal difference. His first league defeat came on 18 September 2016 in a 2–1 home loss to
Viborg. Brøndby finished the
2016–17 season as runners-up, the club's highest league placing since 2005–06. The following season marked the peak of Zorniger's tenure. On 10 May 2018 Brøndby won the
Danish Cup with a 3–1 victory over
Silkeborg in the final, securing the club's first major trophy in 13 years. In the league Brøndby led the table for long periods but, having been two goals ahead away to
AC Horsens in the penultimate round, conceded twice in stoppage time to draw 2–2, a result that allowed Copenhagen to overtake them and win the title; Brøndby again finished second and missed out on what would have been their first championship since 2005. During the
2018–19 season Brøndby were unable to reproduce their previous form and trailed the leading clubs in the Superliga. On 18 February 2019, with the team in third place following a home defeat to Esbjerg, the club announced that Zorniger had been relieved of his duties. According to sporting director
Ebbe Sand, the board no longer believed that he was the right coach to implement the club's long-term strategy, known as "Strategy 6.4", and felt that elements of the so-called "Brøndby DNA" were lacking in his playing style. Zorniger was also criticised in the Danish media and among some supporters for occasionally fielding starting line-ups consisting entirely of foreign players, which was seen by critics as conflicting with the club's ambition to develop home-grown talent.
Apollon Limassol In December 2019, Zorniger was appointed head coach of
Apollon Limassol in the
Cypriot First Division. He led the club to the
2021–22 league title, Apollon's first championship in over a decade. After the club were eliminated in the third qualifying round of the
2022–23 UEFA Champions League in August 2022, he was dismissed.
Greuther Fürth After leaving Cyprus, Zorniger returned to Germany in October 2022 to take charge of
Greuther Fürth. At the time, Fürth were bottom of the
2. Bundesliga with one of the youngest squads in the league, but Zorniger guided the team to ten points from his first four matches, lifting them to tenth place by the winter break. On 27 November 2023, with the club placed fifth, Fürth announced a contract extension with Zorniger until June 2026. Following a poor run of form early in the
2024–25 season—including five winless matches and a 4–0 defeat to
1. FC Nürnberg—the club dismissed both Zorniger and sporting director
Rachid Azzouzi on 22 October 2024, with Fürth stating that they wished to take the team in a new direction.
OB On 31 May 2025, newly promoted
Danish Superliga club
OB announced that Zorniger would become their head coach for the
2025–26 season, marking his return to Danish football more than six years after his departure from Brøndby. ==Style of management==