Shortly after retiring, Garitano started working as an assistant at former club Alicante. In October 2008 he was named manager, replacing the fired
José Carlos Granero. However, after only three matches, he was replaced by
Nino Lema and moved to the backroom staff. Garitano was appointed
CD Castellón coach on 6 April 2010, after being previously working at the club as an assistant. He remained in charge until the end of
the season, suffering relegation as last. On 7 July 2011, Garitano signed with third division side
Orihuela CF. The
following campaign, also as manager, he worked with
CD Alcoyano, eventually losing promotion with both teams in the play-offs. On 28 June 2013, Garitano joined
CD Leganés still in the third tier. In his
first season, he achieved promotion to division two after defeating
CE L'Hospitalet in
the play-offs; another promotion followed in
2016, finishing second in the regular season. On 24 May 2018, Garitano was appointed at the helm of
Real Sociedad. On 26 December that year, he was dismissed due to a poor run of results. Garitano became manager of
Deportivo Alavés on 21 May 2019, taking over from
Abelardo who had resigned a day earlier. He was fired in July 2020, after five consecutive defeats. On 27 January 2021, Garitano returned to Leganés, with the club back in the second division. He was sacked on 30 October, leaving the side in the relegation zone. On 29 May 2023, after more than a year without coaching, Garitano replaced
Luis Miguel Ramis at fellow second-tier
CD Tenerife. He left in June 2024, after a
12th-place finish. On 8 April 2025, Garitano took over from the sacked
Rubén Albés at relegation-threatened
Sporting de Gijón; he signed a contract valid until 30 June 2026. He managed to easily avoid a drop, ranking
11th with 56 points, but was dismissed on 5 October after five consecutive losses in the
new campaign. ==Personal life==