Former Luton Town coach Chris Cohen appointed co-head coach of Lincoln City

Former Luton Town coach and assistant manager Chris Cohen has been announced as the new joint-head coach of Lincoln City.

Cohen and fellow assistant coach Tom Shaw were announced last week by the Imps as Lincoln’s new co-head coaches, with the duo succeeding Michael Skubala after Lincoln’s previous head coach left to take the job at Bristol City.

The duo will be seeking to build on the work achieved with Skubala last season as Lincoln prepare for life in the Championship. The Imps achieved 103 points as they won the League One title, winning promotion to the second tier of English football for the first time in 65 years.

Cohen had previously had his first job in coaching with Luton, spending just over two years as part of Nathan Jones’ set-up at Kenilworth Road. He initially joined as a coach ahead of the 2020/21 season before spending time as an assistant manager with Luton. Cohen left Luton after moving with Jones when the Welshman took the Southampton job in November 2022.

Since leaving St Mary’s, Cohen joined Lincoln in 2023 for a brief period when Shaw was an interim head coach, then returned in early 2024 before leaving for Stoke City in the summer of 2024 when he was offered a job by Steven Schumacher, only to leave with Schumacher when he was sacked by Stoke a few weeks into the 2024/25 season.

In November 2024, Cohen made his third return to Lincoln to take a role as part of Skubala’s coaching set-up, where he remained until his promotion to joint head coach following Skubala’s exit.

Lincoln’s Sporting Director Jez George told the club’s official website that he felt the decision to promote Cohen and Shaw would prove to be the right fit for the club.

He said, “Chris and Tom were very close to being in these roles already, with autonomy to lead every training session, unit meetings and taking responsibility for devising individual game plans. Under Michael’s watch, they also designed, developed and finessed the game model.

“We know this goes against convention, but our job is to do what we think is right for Lincoln City at this time. This provides us with maximum continuity for a squad that achieved 103 points last season and clarity at a crucial time leading up to the opening of the transfer window.

“I have experienced working with Danny and Nicky Cowley, who as brothers were as close as you could get to head coaches and when we discussed the way in which this will operate with Chris and Tom, it was disingenuous to portray the relationship as head coach and assistant as it is genuinely a 50/50 partnership. They have worked together, as equals, for two years and will continue to do so. Therefore, they are both our head coaches, and they will operate in the same way as last season except they will also now have ultimate responsibility, between them, on selecting the team.”