Terry Venables refused to commit himself to a full-time appointment while there were many contractual hurdles to overcome with Martin O'Neill.
It all went very quiet during the week with Alan Curbishley, Tony Mowbray and Louis van Gaal all in the running.
Now Gareth Southgate leads the pack, with Gibson willing to make him the new Boro No.1, but his lack of appropriate coaching badges could cause a problem.
However, the precedence has been set at Newcastle, with Glenn Roeder in a similar position to Southgate, but if Gibson does not get the blessing of the other Premiership clubs he could appoint Steve Round as No.1 until Southgate completes his coaching badges.