With questions already being raised about the job security of Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, where might the club look if they found themselves in need of a stand-in boss at short notice?
It is utterly inconceivable that any business of the size and global reach of Chelsea Football Club would have failed to consider its options for the replacement of its most important and visible employee. Particularly so when that employee is one with a history as volatile as Mourinho's.
So you can be sure that discussions have been had at a high level, simply as a matter of good risk management, if nothing else.
But who is out there? And where might Chelsea look in the event of a sudden second parting of ways with Mourinho?
Should Abramovich fancy retreading old ground again, as he did with Mourinho's reappointment, practically a full cycle of old Chelsea managers is currently available.
Possibly the most out of reach at the moment would be the man who first replaced Mourinho at Stamford Bridge back in 2007, Avram Grant.
The Israeli is contracted to the Ghanaian FA as national coach until February 2017, and was clear eight months ago when linked with the then vacant Aston Villa job that he intended seeing that contract until its conclusion.
The world tour that took Luiz Felipe Scolari to jobs in Uzbekistan, and club and international management in Brazil, has presently stopped in China – where in June he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Guangzhou Evergrande.
One game managerial wonder, and long term Chelsea servant Ray Wilkins, is now assistant to Tim Sherwood at Aston Villa.
But from there on, in the Chelsea hall of managerial fame, it would be plain sailing to recruit a coach.
Guus Hiddink, still close to Abramovich, left his position as Dutch national coach in the summer.
Carlo Ancelotti, sacked by Real Madrid in May, is enjoying his leisure time taking selfies at dinner parties with Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo, and is understood to have recently rebuffed the potential interest of Liverpool.
Andre Villas-Boas has announced he will be a free man at the end of the present Russian Premier League season, having turned down a contract extension at Zenit St Petersburg.
Roberto di Matteo is tending the garden of his Warwickshire home, having quit as Schalke boss in May.
And Rafael Benitez has had a tricky start to his reign as Real Madrid boss, after a reportedly tempestuous turn in relations with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Leading the field of those outside the Chelsea camp, Jurgen Klopp is understood to have made it clear Chelsea is pretty much the polar opposite of the long-term building job he sees himself moving into next.
Pep Guardiola, expected to leave Bayern Munich next summer, seems likely to be bound for Manchester City.
Diego Simeone signed a new five year contract with Atletico Madrid in March.
And, but for a few other wildcard options, that pretty much leaves promotion from within as the only possibility.
Steve Holland, the one assistant Mourinho did not bring with him, has no experience as a manager
Michael Emenalo, the only other fully qualified coach in the set-up, would be quite a significant risk, given his main previous experience involved coaching a girls team in the USA.
And then there is John Terry – who can at least point to the past occasions where he has led the team as de-facto manager (such as 2007-08), and is quietly taking his coaching badges in the background.
There are doubtless many reasons why Chelsea have been willing to give Mourinho more of a chance to turn around poor results than any other manager under Abramovich.
But don't discount the lack of an obvious successor as key among these.
