Liverpool will not need a replacement for Jurgen Klopp until 2024, but the chances of Steven Gerrard being on the shortlist when the time comes are very high.
Gerrard winning the Scottish Premiership with Rangers this season, preventing Celtic from making it 10 wins in a row, has not gone unnoticed at Anfield, but the reality is that it is far more than silverware that makes the Reds legend a candidate.
"All of the stuff that he has done in Scotland is applicable for a job like Liverpool," said Josh WiIlliams on the Analysing Anfield podcast.
"Liverpool should not be taking chances with coaches - they should be shopping at the business end. Jurgen Klopp, for example, has 20 years of managerial experience.
"When Liverpool come to replace Klopp, there are a few things that you need to have: a proven track record of improving players, a proven winner in terms of silverware, a willingness to work inside the structure of a director of football, speak English, a playing style that complements what has come before, and good underlying performance metrics.
"The metrics are what I am excited about with Gerrard. Although he has dominated Scotland and done well in the Europa League, his numbers are what are really, really good.
"In 33 games, they have conceded 10 league goals all season."
"They are not reliant on one talismanic player: they have multiple goal threats on the pitch," said David Hughes.
"They have three of the top six scorers in the Scottish League - two on 11 and one on 10.
"They have a good team, but not a team that could win the league on their own without strong leadership and good coaching."
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Dig into the numbers a little further and the evidence of Gerrard's coaching abilities only gets greater.
"It is difficult to compare Rangers to Manchester City because City are facing much better opponents," added Williams.
"But in terms of shots faced, Rangers face an average of about 5.9 - that would be the lowest in the big five leagues.
"For perspective, Man City are currently facing 6.8 per match, Liverpool are facing 8.3 per match, and for Rangers to be that low, it is quite a statement.
"Rangers are conceding 0.28 goals per match and for perspective of how good that is, the famous Jose Mourinho team of 2005 that conceded 15 goals all season - that is over 0.11 per match less.
"Their defensive game is absolutely spot on and he gets a lot of inspiration from Rafa Benitez.
"In terms of shot differential - the number of shots you take minus the number that you face - the best Brendan Rodgers achieved at Celtic, Gerrard achieved better last season, and he is on course to achieve better this season too."
There are plenty of boxes that any potential manager of Liverpool has to tick off before becoming a candidate, but Gerrard is still well on the way to that being the case.
And with three more seasons before any contenders will get the chance to take over from Klopp at Anfield, Liverpool have plenty of time yet to further assess his progress.
