Leeds United Redfearn left York over a month later after being appointed coach of the under-18 academy team at
Leeds United on 30 December 2008 and he assumed this role on 1 January 2009. Redfearn picked up a victory in his first game back in charge with a 1–0 win on 30 August against Bolton Wanderers. On 20 September, Redfearn's Leeds picked up a 3–0 win over local rivals
Huddersfield Town. After recording a record of three wins and one draw in his latest stint as caretaker, Leeds announced that Redfearn would be stepping back down into a role described as "Academy manager and head of coaching." with
Darko Milanič appointed the new head coach of Leeds on a two-year deal replacing previous head coach
Dave Hockaday, he was joined at Leeds by his
SK Sturm Graz Assistant
Novica Nikčević. On 25 October 2014, Milanič was dismissed by the club after only 32 days in charge. Cellino confirmed that Redfearn would be appointed as Leeds' new head coach. On 27 October 2014 Redfearn confirmed that he verbally agreed to become head coach of Leeds after receiving reassurances that if it does not work out, he will revert to his previous job back in the academy. On 1 November 2014, Redfearn was confirmed as the club's new head coach, on an initial 12-month contract with the option of a further 12 months, the contract also had a clause that would see Redfearn return to the academy if he was to leave his role as head coach. On 18 December 2014,
Steve Thompson was hired as Redfearn's new assistant manager. On 2 April 2015, Redfearn's assistant
Steve Thompson was suspended by Leeds for an 'internal matter' by Leeds Sporting Director
Nicola Salerno, with Redfearn saying that he was kept in the dark about the cause. Also on 2 April 2015, a story emerged that Redfearn had been put under pressure to 'not select' top scorer
Mirco Antenucci, because Antenucci's contract featured a clause of an extra year on his contract, should he score 12 goals in his first season. Antenucci's agent Silvio Pagliari confirmed the clause was correct. Despite this, Redfearn started Antenucci, with Antenucci making a relatively rare start against
Wolverhampton Wanderers on 6 April in a 4–3 defeat. On 24 June 2015, former Sporting Director
Nicola Salerno proclaimed the decision to not play Antenucci prior was Redfearn's decision. On 9 April, after rumoured Premier League interest in
Alex Mowatt and teammates
Lewis Cook,
Charlie Taylor and
Sam Byram, Redfearn challenged Leeds United's owners to keep a hold of their home grown talents. On 18 April 2015, six of owner
Massimo Cellino's signings (
Mirco Antenucci,
Giuseppe Bellusci,
Souleymane Doukara,
Dario Del Fabro,
Marco Silvestri and
Edgar Cani) controversially pulled out of the squad with an 'injury' the day before a 2–1 loss against
Charlton Athletic. On 14 May 2015, Cellino gave a press conference announcing
Adam Pearson as the club's executive director to work directly alongside Cellino. The press conference included Cellino leaving halfway through for a cigarette break only to return, and for the press conference to run for over an hour, with Cellino refusing to reveal the future of Redfearn. On 16 May, with speculation increasing about his future as Leeds United Head Coach, Cellino in an interview with the
Sunday Mirror said that Redfearn was "weak" and "a baby". On 20 May 2015, Leeds announced
Uwe Rösler as the new head coach, ending Redfearn's leadership at the club, with no announcement made of Redfearn's departure as head coach. Leeds executive director
Adam Pearson said in the Rosler press conference that Redfearn had been offered back his previous role as Academy Director.
Rotherham United On 9 October 2015, Redfearn was appointed manager of Championship club
Rotherham United on a two-and-a-half-year deal. He was dismissed as manager on 8 February 2016, with Rotherham 22nd in the table.
Doncaster Rovers Belles On 29 December 2017,
Doncaster Rovers Belles announced the appointment of Redfearn as their new manager. On 13 May 2018, the Belles won the FA WSL 2 title, their first trophy since 1994. His first and ultimately only match in charge ended in a sobering 5–0 loss to
Arsenal Women. He resigned on 14 September 2018 after just one game in charge.
Newcastle United U23 On 2 October 2018, Redfearn was appointed as the new assistant coach of Ben Dawson at
Newcastle United U23. On 21 June 2019, Redfearn was promoted to the role of Newcastle United U23 head coach. On 4 July 2019, Redfearn was announced as the caretaker head coach, assisted by Ben Dawson after the departure of manager
Rafael Benítez on 30 June. He took charge of first team training for the 2019/20 pre-season. On 5 November 2019, Redfearn stepped down from this position.
Sheffield United Women On 28 August 2020, Redfearn was announced as the new head coach of Sheffield United Women. In November 2022, he announced his immediate resignation from the Blades.
Oldham Athletic On 22 September 2023, Redfearn returned to former club Oldham Athletic in the role of caretaker assistant manager, assisting
Steve Thompson. With the appointment of a permanent manager imminent, both Redfearn and Thompson departed the club on 12 October. In November 2023 he became the lead professional development phase coach of
Bradford City.
Farsley Celtic On 17 January 2025, Redfearn was appointed manager of National League North side
Farsley Celtic. However after less than 3 weeks in the post, Redfearn resigned after 4 matches in charge. ==Personal life==