Affectionately known to Boro fans as "Mogga", Mowbray became a legend in Middlesbrough for being a local lad who led the club from liquidation back into the top league of English football within two seasons.

In 2007, Mowbray was placed at number 7 in a chronological list of Middlesbrough legends[5] compiled by local newspaper the Evening Gazette.

[8] He gained much acclaim for the job he did, winning the Scottish Football Writers' Association manager of the year award in his first season.

Despite two famous victories over old rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in the semi-finals, Albion lost 1–0 to Derby County in the Wembley final.

As a result, during the close season, Mowbray set about restructuring his squad, moving out several of Robson's players for multimillion-pound fees, after press reports of dressing room division.

[13] High-profile players such as Jason Koumas, Diomansy Kamara and Curtis Davies were sold to Premier League clubs for large fees, in addition to the departures of Paul McShane, Nathan Ellington, Darren Carter and Steve Watson.

Mowbray replaced them by signing a total of 14 permanent and loan players in the summer transfer window, making an overall profit in the process.

[16] Despite the large changes in his squad, Mowbray won the Championship Manager of the Month award in September 2007, after Albion gained 13 out of the maximum 15 points and climbed to 2nd in the Division.

[citation needed] Mowbray guided West Brom to the EFL Championship title, meaning promotion to the Premier League and reached the semi-final of the FA Cup.

The semi-final, the first to be played at the new Wembley Stadium, pitted West Brom against Portsmouth, the only remaining Premier League team left in the FA Cup.

On 8 June 2009, it was reported that Celtic had approached West Bromwich Albion for permission to speak to Mowbray about their managerial vacancy.

Mowbray was described as "beleaguered" by The Herald after Celtic fell 10 points behind Old Firm rivals Rangers in the SPL title race after a 2–1 home defeat by Hibs.

[25] Mowbray decided to make significant changes to his squad during the January 2010 transfer window, selling Gary Caldwell and Barry Robson, which apparently caused disruption to the team in the immediate aftermath of those deals being completed.

[25] Robbie Keane was recruited early in 2010 on a loan deal from Tottenham Hotspur amid great excitement, however further poor results, particularly a record 4–0 defeat by St Mirren, led to Mowbray being sacked on 25 March.

The same season, Mowbray started giving youngsters a first team place such as Joe Bennett, Luke Williams and Richard Smallwood.

[35] Following protracted negotiations at the end of the season, Tony Mowbray agreed to sign a two-year contract extension to remain as Coventry City manager.

[37] On 22 February 2017, Mowbray was appointed head coach of Blackburn Rovers on an 18-month contract, effectively lasting until the end of the 2017–18 season.

[citation needed] Mowbray left Blackburn at the conclusion of his contract in May 2022 and was replaced by Jon Dahl Tomasson as head coach.

[46] Mowbray was appointed manager of Championship club Birmingham City on 8 January 2024, replacing Wayne Rooney; he signed a two-and-a-half-year contract.

[52] On 18 January 2025, Mowbray was reappointed head coach of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion on a two-and-a-half-year contract.