Seemingly happy with his role as Under-21's boss, Southgate's future was altered by the newspaper revelations that saw off Sam Allardyce after just one match in charge of the national side.
On 27 September 2016 he was asked to step up, temporarily, with important World Cup qualifiers to come against Malta and Slovenia.
Now, with qualification all but assured for Russia 2018, Southgate is preparing to pit his wits against the likes of Joachim Low in the world's greatest sporting competition.
The tale of his year in charge is of England doing just enough, not without some nervy moments at time, in their qualifiers but coming up slightly short against the likes of Spain, Germany and France in their high-profile friendly matches.
Off the field, Southgate was clearly seen as a 'safe pair of hands' when given the job in the wake of the revelations about Allardyce but a proportion of the role is about being an ambassador for the FA and the England team and, as someone with a hinterland outside of football, he is a good fit for those responsibilities.
Critics will point to his record as Middlesbrough manager, with the Teesside club being relegated from the Premier League during Southgate’s time at the Riverside Stadium but does success at club level even translate to the international scene?
Low himself had a middling record as a club manager before joining the Germany set-up under Jurgen Klinsmann but the wider nature of the international job has clearly suited him down to the ground.
As Roy Hodgson's appointment as Crystal Palace manager this week has shown, how you are remembered as an England manager can often come down to just one match (if it is a disaster like the Iceland game or the Croatia defeat that defined Steve McClaren's tenure).
Can Southgate avoid that scenario in Russia next year?
