The first two games of his reign did not go to plan for new Nigeria coach Jose Peseiro, but he showed signs of following in the footsteps of Super Eagles coaching great Clemens Westerhof regardless.
Both games ended in defeats, first a 2-1 loss to Mexico in Dallas then a 1-0 reverse to Ecuador a few days later in New Jersey.
In fairness, it is harsh to criticise Peseiro for those losses. He barely had two training sessions in charge of the team before the first game, and was missing a whole slew of first team starters for both matches.
Still, on the basis of the second half performance against Mexico, and the majority of the game against Ecuador, it looks like the Super Eagles could be on to a good thing with the Portuguese, and there are parallels to be drawn with Westerhof.
Nigeria coaches have traditionally made good starts to life on the green and white bench. One would have to go back 28 years for the most recent loss in the first outing, when Shuaibu Amodu took charge of the Super Eagles. Fresh from the 1994 World Cup, where they caught the eye and were voted the most entertaining team, a 1-0 loss at Wembley to England followed.
The next would be an even longer trip down memory lane, to 1989 when Westerhof lost to Cameroon in a World Cup qualifying match in Yaounde. Westerhof then wrote himself into Nigerian history by winning the Africa Cup of Nations, and then leading the team to qualify for their first ever World Cup, and on to a round of 16 place.
Amodu, despite having to scale numerous hoops, also qualified the country for the World Cup and found himself the go-to guy when the nation found itself in tight spots and needed rescue. Both men are among the most respected coaches in Nigerian football history.
So, losing his opening match could portend well for Peseiro, if history is anything to go by. He will not, however, be leading his side to the World Cup in Qatar later this year, as they failed to qualify for it before he was hired.
It is not just about the symmetry, however. Peseiro's team showed some positive signs in the two losses, despite some familiar errors popping up to compromise their chances of victory.
A slow start to both games, iffy passing, and an inability to deal with the early high press and passing movement from both opposition teams, led to defensive mishaps. Those mishaps led to goals. And those goals spawned losses.
At the other end, the forwards also missed a plethora of opportunities to score, which could have earned them a tie against Mexico and arguably victory against Ecuador.
Peseiro was honest enough to concede these points, looking ahead to their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sierra Leone and Sao Tome later this week: "Against Mexico, the first half was not good. [Against Ecuador] I think the last 30 minutes of the first half, we commanded the match.
"Only the first 15 minutes we did not play like we can because I like my team to control the match. It is not easy to pressure 90 minutes the way we did in the second half.
"We played much better against Ecuador than we did against Mexico. We created more opportunities, so the next match, we will be much better than this match."
Despite only having days with the team, Peseiro was quick to establish his authority. His tactical flexibility was also something that fans had yearned for during the final days of his predecessor Gernot Rohr's tenure.
Against Mexico, the coach started with three at the back, but seeing his three centrebacks dominated by the two Mexico forwards, he switched things around at half time, and went to a traditional back four. The change brought stability and the Super Eagles proceeded to control the game going forward, got themselves a goal, only to fall back into their old ways and concede an own goal.
Failing to making the right substitutions at the right time was another mark against Rohr. But Peseiro wasted no time in ringing the changes against Ecuador at half time, even though the team had turned things around midway through the first half. Chidozie Awaziem and Sani Faisal were both yanked and replaced with Ola Aina and Emmanuel Dennis.
Peseiro also showed some selection boldness in giving game time to domestic league players. He threw three of them into the fray in the first game, and started another in only his second match in charge.
It is early days yet, but this could be a sign that the NPFL players may have a pathway to the Super Eagles under the new manager, whereas Rohr was seemingly determined to put boulders in that path. Westerhof -- and then his protege Stephen Keshi - also employed local players to great effect in winning the Nations Cup title and qualifying for the World Cup.
And like both those coaches, Peseiro is laying down the law to players. Only those who have quality and show heart will be selected.
"The doors to the national team is open to everybody," he said. "Local players, even from the academy. But, they need to know, first to have quality, then passion. In this moment, Nigeria has many players to choose from, without a problem."
Players already look rejuvenated under the new coach, although it could be simply the typical new coach effect. Alex Iwobi was sparkling, Calvin Bassey showed verve and intent, Cyriel Dessers' movement was impeccable even if his finishing could have been better, and goalkeeper Francis Uzoho looked nothing like the nervy player he was in the last game in Abuja.
Uzoho told ESPN it was down to Peseiro: "We are enjoying freedom to express ourselves, to believe in ourselves and the coach brings a lot of confidence to the team. I think with him we are going to do great things."
It is way too early to judge how the Portuguese will fare, and the early days of a coach's tenure are not the most accurate barometer of what the rest of his tenure will look like. But there are good signs about Peseiro and Super Eagles fans can only hope for the best.