Manchester City Women Originally joining the club in a junior role in 2008, Cushing worked his way through a succession of coaching positions starting as a schools coach and progressing to the
academy setup before transitioning into the club's women's team. In his first season Cushing's City started slowly as they adjusted to their new first division status, finishing fifth of eight teams and registering only six victories from their 14 matches, although the season was salvaged to some extent when Manchester City became the first team in four seasons to beat
Arsenal to the
FA WSL Cup trophy. Their lacklustre form continued at the start of the 2015 season as they took five points from their opening five league games before the season was interrupted for two months by the
2015 Women's World Cup, in which England finished third. Returning from the break, England's performance seemingly brought Cushing's City team to life as he managed them to a run of 12 wins in 13 matches. Although his side had ended 2015 trophyless, they entered the following season in rampant form, going unbeaten in the league with an unprecedented defensive record of only four goals conceded in 16 games to win a first league title. Cushing then added to his trophy haul with a second WSL Cup triumph in a match which was equally notable for his decision to remain through extra time to the final whistle despite being called to attend his wife going into labour with his third child. Nick also added to his honours with a personal gong, winning Manager of the Year at the FA's
Women's Football Awards. While his City team disappointed somewhat as they failed to defend their title in the
Spring Series, Cushing was at least able to complete his clean sweep of the domestic trophies, winning the
FA Women's Cup with a comprehensive defeat of
Birmingham City in May 2017.
New York City FC On 9 January 2020, it was announced that Cushing would move to become assistant coach to
Ronny Deila at
MLS side
New York City FC, with his last match in charge of Manchester City Women being against
Arsenal on 2 February 2020. On 13 June 2022, Cushing became interim head coach for the club after head coach
Ronny Deila departed for Belgian club
Standard Liège. On 10 November 2022, Cushing was promoted to head coach ahead of the 2023 season. On 26 November 2024, Cushing was sacked after two seasons as the permanent manager of New York City.
Return to Manchester City Following the sacking of
Gareth Taylor on 10 March 2025, Cushing returned to Manchester City Women as interim head coach until the end of the
2024–25 season.
Denver Summit FC On 6 August 2025, Cushing was appointed first-ever head coach for
National Women's Soccer League club
Denver Summit. The club is set to begin league play in 2026. ==Managerial statistics==