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Cape Town - Following Stuart Baxter's resignation as Bafana Bafana mentor, Clive Barker's reign as coach between 1994-1997 remains the longest.
Sport24 reported earlier in the week that Baxter was thinking of raising the white flag on his time as head coach of the national team.
On Friday, at a press conference in Johannesburg, the 65-year-old announced his immediate departure despite a hot and cold 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign in Egypt.
Baxter was supposed to guide the nation to the next Soccer World Cup in Qatar with the famous '2022 Vision' in mind that the South African Football Association (SAFA) has been urging fans to get behind.
"Someone should continue with this project and therefore I am resigning as Bafana Bafana head coach. It was my personal decision to step down," Baxter told reporters.
His second spell as Bafana Bafana coach lasted just over two years after he penned a five-year contract on May 4, 2017.
It has become a pattern for coaches to either be ousted - or straight out quit after two years as Bafana Bafana mentor.
Barker's successful tenure which saw Bafana Bafana clinch their one and only AFCON crown to date in 1996 - two years after he inked a deal to become head coach of South Africa.
Since then no coach has lasted for more than two years.
It remains unclear as to who will be South Africa's next coach despite calls from fans to give Gavin Hunt or Bafana Bafana legend Benni McCarthy a chance at the helm.
Hunt has said that he is "too young" to be a national coach as he is completely focused on being with a team every day.
"I really don't want to talk about that, that's not really my area, there's someone in place there. I'm too young to be a national team coach (laughs)," Hunt is on record as saying.
Meanwhile, McCarthy said last year that he is not even thinking of the Bafana Bafana job after Pitso Mosimane revealed that the Cape Town City coach is "destined" for the role in the future.
"I just want to concentrate on me and my coaching staff‚ and us trying to get things right to get us to where we should be," McCarthy said at the time.
"Anything that happens after that... but my mindset is not on Bafana I'm afraid. Not even close."
The role as Bafana Bafana coach has been a poisoned chalice and many feel SAFA are responsible for the national team failing to reach its full potential.
Whoever the association selects to become the next coach of the national team, has a job-and-a-half to do.
Tashreeq Vardien works at Sport24 and is a paper basketball dustbin champion... Follow Tashreeq on Twitter.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
