Disaster Index: 7.4 Entry: Clarke: Tenure Closed Cause: Steve Clarke resigning as Scotland head coach within minutes of World Cup elimination, ending a seven-year tenure with a group-stage exit. Category: Structural / Historical Evidence: Clarke in post since 2019. Contract extension signed in the weeks before the tournament. Resignation announced before the elimination had time to settle. Final words on record: "Thanks for having me and good luck to my successor." Historical precedent: Scotland has a documented pattern of managerial departures arriving as a compound event — the exit from the tournament and the exit of the manager occupying the same news cycle, leaving the country to grieve both simultaneously before either has been fully processed. Affected parties: Scottish Football Association, successor search committee, a support that now enters the vacancy period without a result to argue about. Immediate outlook: The post is open. The group stage is closed. The SFA has confirmed gratitude. The record will determine what gratitude covers. Filed: 2026-06-27 / World Cup 2026 group stage exit