Viikingit After retiring as a football player, Honkavaara started as an assistant coach of
FC Viikingit, in the coaching staff of
Toni Korkeakunnas. In 2007, he was appointed the head coach for the
2007 Veikkausliiga season and held the position of coach in the club until 2009.
HIFK and Gnistan In the autumn of 2009, he was selected as head coach of
HIFK where he led the club towards promotion to the Finnish first division
Ykkönen after season 2010. He resigned from the role of manager of HIFK after season 2011. After the successful spell at HIFK, he went to coach another Helsinki based club
IF Gnistan. Despite a rather successful season, he then resigned from the club after season 2012, citing family reasons. Soon after he was appointed as the new head coach of HIFK which had faced relegation back to Finnish second division,
Kakkonen, after the ending season, led by Honkavaara's successor in the managerial role,
Juha Moilanen. Right after next and very successful season 2013, he led HIFK back to Ykkönen. After the 2014 season, HIFK was promoted to Veikkausliiga, making it to the top tier of Finnish football for the first time in over 40 years.
KuPS At the end of November 2016 it was announced, that Honkavaara would be the new manager of
Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS), starting from 1 January 2017. He managed the club to finish 2nd in the league in 2017, and in the 3rd place in 2018. In June 2019, he was offered a head coach position of
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. The Belgian club offered to pay a €100,000 fee for his contract, but KuPS was reluctant to let Honkavaara leave. Eventually, in the
2019 Veikkausliiga season, Honkavaara led KuPS to its first Finnish championship title in 43 years.
SJK Seinäjoki In October 2019 Honkavaara was announced as the new manager of his hometown side
Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho (SJK). In the
2021 season, the team finished 3rd in Veikkausliiga and won the bronze medal. In the early 2022, Honkavaara started to work as a coach educator for the
Football Association of Finland.
Return to KuPS In April 2023, Honkavaara returned to
KuPS, when the club sacked
Pasi Tuutti after only three games in the season. Honkavaara improved the team's performances and led KuPS to finish 2nd in the
2023 Veikkausliiga season, by a goal difference to
HJK. In the end of the season, the club first didn't exercise their option, but later announced that Honkavaara's contract was extended for the
2024 season. For the 2024 season, KuPS reduced the player budget and acquired more of young potential players, rather than players who had already proved their league-level. On 17 June 2024, Honkavaara was also named the new assistant coach of the
Finland national football team. It was also announced that he would not continue as the manager of KuPS after the 2024 season. In September, Honkavaara guided KuPS to win the
Finnish Cup, and in October they won the
Veikkausliiga championship title again, making it the first double win in the club's history, and the second title for Honkavaara with KuPS. He was awarded
Finnish Football Manager of the Year and Veikkausliiga Manager of the Year in 2024.
Djurgårdens IF On 20 December 2024, Swedish
Allsvenskan side
Djurgården announced that they had appointed Honkavaara as their new manager on a three-year contract, starting in January 2025. His tenure with the Finland national team ended simultaneously. After Djurgården was knocked out of the
Svenska Cupen in group stage, in March Honkavaara led the club to qualify for the
quarter finals of the
UEFA Conference League by defeating
Pafos 3–1 on aggregate, making it the first European quarter final appearance for a Swedish club since
AIK in
1996–97. Later they advanced to the semi-finals against
Chelsea, after beating
Rapid Wien in the quarter-finals. Honkavaara was named the Allsvenskan Manager of the Month for September 2025, after leading Djurgården to an eleven-game unbeaten run. ==Personal life==