Craig Gardner (born 25 November 1986) is an English professional football coach and former player who made 260 appearances in the Premier League and a further 67 in the Championship.

He moved on to a similar role at Sheffield Wednesday in November 2020, before leaving a month later when Tony Pulis' contract was terminated and returning to Birmingham.

[12] He made his debut on 7 February as a 68th-minute substitute, and set up the first of Kevin Phillips' goals as Birmingham came back to beat Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1.

Gardner signed a three-year deal with Sunderland for an undisclosed fee, believed by BBC Sport to be about £6 million, on 30 June 2011.

However, he was re-united with former boss O'Neill when he replaced Steve Bruce as Sunderland manager in December 2011, and this prompted a change in fortune for Gardner and the Black Cats.

Gardner was deployed at right back against Manchester City on New Year's Day 2012 due to an injury crisis, and helped Sunderland to a shock 1–0 win against the league leaders.

On 5 January, Gardner scored a late equaliser in their FA Cup third round tie away at Bolton Wanderers with a powerful strike from the edge of the box, earning Sunderland a replay.

Despite Gardner's goals, Sunderland were on a run of eight games without a win, and following a home defeat to Manchester United, O'Neill was sacked and replaced by Paolo Di Canio.

Gardner started Di Canio's first game in charge, a 2–1 loss at Chelsea, and picked up his tenth yellow card of the season.

Gardner returned to the team following his suspension, but against Stoke was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Charlie Adam, ending his season prematurely.

Gardner scored the only goal of the FA Cup fifth-round tie against Southampton when he "unleashed a 20-yard shot which arced imperiously before brushing the underside of the bar as it dipped en route to the top corner".

[25] On 20 May 2014, Gardner signed a three-year deal with West Bromwich Albion, to begin when his Sunderland contract expired at the end of the 2013–14 season.

[27] On 11 January 2017, Gardner returned to Birmingham City on loan until the end of the season, after which the transfer would become a three-year permanent deal with an option for a fourth year.

[32] Gardner had acted as Birmingham City's player-coach during the 2019–20 season under Pep Clotet's management, and took up a permanent position as first-team coach on 1 July.

[30] The club had announced that Clotet would leave at the end of the season, which had been extended because of the coronavirus pandemic, but after a series of poor results, he left on 8 July.

[12][4][40][41] His younger brother Gary Gardner also played for England at youth level and turned professional with Aston Villa.