Early coaching career Just one month after the end of his career as a player, he became the manager at SV Straelen. Two years later he went to KFC Uerdingen again and in 2002 he was hired as an assistant coach at Bundesliga side
1. FC Köln. In 2005, he became manager at
2. Bundesliga team
SC Paderborn 07, finishing the 2005–06 season in 9th place. He resigned there on 11 August 2006.
Borussia Mönchengladbach On 2 January 2007, he was hired by
Bundesliga side
Borussia Mönchengladbach as assistant manager to
Jupp Heynckes. Heynckes resigned shortly after on 31 January 2007 following a run of 13 games without a win, leaving Luhukay to take over. Luhukay was unable to save Gladbach from relegation, and they finished the 2007–08 season in 18th position in the Bundesliga. In his first full season in charge, Luhukay guided Gladbach to an immediate return to the top flight, finishing the season as
2. Bundesliga as champions with 66 points. On 5 October 2008, Luhukay was sacked by Borussia Mönchengladbach, with the team 18th in the table.
FC Augsburg On 23 March 2009, Luhukay signed with
FC Augsburg as manager, with a view to taking over on 1 July that summer. In his first full season in charge, Luhukay guided Augsburg to 3rd position in the
2. Bundesliga where they met
Nürnberg in the play-offs, losing 3–0 on aggregate and missing out on promotion. During this season, Augsburg also reached the semi-final of the
DFB-Pokal, where they lost 2–0 to
Werder Bremen. The following season, Augsburg won promotion to the
Bundesliga for the first time in their history, finishing 2nd in the league. In their first season in the top flight, Augsburg finished 14th, avoiding relegation by 7 points. Luhukay resigned immediately after the final league match of the 2011–12 season after just over three years in charge.
Hertha BSC On 17 May 2012, Luhukay became the new manager of
Hertha BSC. He officially took over coaching duties on 1 July 2012. In the
2012–13 season, Hertha broke the record for the most points in a
2. Bundesliga season, winning promotion back to the top flight as league champions with 76 points. They also reached the quarter final of the
DFB-Pokal. In Luhukay's second season with Hertha, they finished 11th in the
Bundesliga. On 5 February 2015, Hertha sacked Luhukay, naming
Pál Dárdai as replacement along with assistant
Rainer Widmayer. Hertha had lost 1–0 After conflicts with sporting director
Jan Schindelmeiser, Luhukay resigned as the coach of VfB Stuttgart with immediate effect on 15 September 2016. Schindelmeiser stated that Luhukay opposed the signings of
Carlos Mané,
Takuma Asano and
Benjamin Pavard. He had a record of three wins, no draws, and two losses.
Sheffield Wednesday On 5 January 2018, Luhukay was announced as the new manager of Sheffield Wednesday, replacing
Carlos Carvalhal. Becoming the Owls' 33rd manager, Luhukay also became the first Dutch, and only the second non-British manager of the club. Luhukay's first match in charge of the club was an away match against local rivals Sheffield United, which ended in a goalless draw and saw the Owls go down to ten men following the dismissal of club captain
Glenn Loovens. His first victory as manager came on 16 January 2018, when Sheffield Wednesday defeated Carlisle United 2–0 in an FA Cup third round replay. Luhukay's first victory in the league came on 13 February 2018, when Sheffield Wednesday defeated Derby County 2–0 at Hillsborough. On 21 December 2018, Luhukay was sacked by Sheffield Wednesday after a run of only 1 win and 7 defeats in 10 games with the team sitting 18th in the table.
FC St. Pauli On 10 April 2019, Luhukay was announced as the new manager of
FC St. Pauli, replacing
Markus Kauczinski. He left the club on 29 June 2020.
VVV-Venlo Lukuhay replaced
Hans de Koning as manager of VVV in March 2021, only his first manager job in his home country. He left the club by mutual consent on 30 May 2022 after a disappointing season as the club finished 10th in the second tier. ==Managerial statistics==