A proven force of nature, "Cyclone Cheika" will officially arrive at Daceyville in November charged with restoring the Waratahs to the glory days after three years without a Super Rugby Pacific finals appearance and a decade of under-achieving since he left the first time.
The firebrand mentor led the Waratahs to their one and only championship in 2014, while his abrasive style has also brought success to almost every team he's coached.
Cheika also coached Leinster to European Cup glory, Argentina to the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 2023 and, as an assistant to Trent Robinson, has helped put the Sydney Roosters on track to claiming this year's NRL minor premiership.
"He's a proven winner and (has) a really good track record of success," Waratahs high-performance manager BJ Mather said after unveiling their new coach for 2027, with the option of another season at least.
"I've only met Michael a couple of times. I don't know him really well but if you know him a little bit better, he's not here for a sugar hit.
"He'll want a say in a lot of things and he'll steer in that direction pretty well. He's got some fairly firm beliefs in how the game is played and what success looks like, and that's what we really want from him."
What Cheika is known to want is full control, something he may not necessarily get at the Waratahs, who remain under Rugby Australia's governance.
"All head coaches want full control," Mather said.
"But like most things, there's limits to what that full control actually looks like.
"We're working within a structure with RA and Michael knows exactly what he's coming into."
Some of the Waratahs' younger players, though, might not know what they will be walking into until they meet Cheika, possibly for a first time.
"He's very clear on how he wants things done, and it might be a little bit of a wake-up call for some of us in terms of how we do things," Mather said.
"But that track record of success buys you that ability to do that."
While initially only signed for one season with an option of staying on in 2028, the Waratahs have made it clear they hope Cheika sticks around for longer.
"As (chairman) Tony (Crawford) is sick of hearing me say, in the last 25 years the Waratahs have had 12 head coaches," Mather said.
"The Crusaders have had about four, I think, so we need to start building some longevity in our coaching team and our coaching structures."
But whether that longevity extends to Lachie McCaffrey, the Waratahs' confirmed Super Rugby AU coach, remains to be seen.
"The structure below Michael and what he wants in the assistant coaches, that's a process for the next couple of weeks to iron out and see what that looks like," Mather said.
"There's no guarantees in rugby. So, look, he (McCaffrey) is a really good young coach that we'd like to keep hold of and keep in the system. And so is Dan Palmer, who's our forwards coach.
"So we'll have that conversation with Michael and see what he wants."
Currently coaching RFC Los Angeles in Major League Rugby, former Wallabies back-rower Stephen Hoiles has been linked to an assistant role with a view to being Cheika's long-term heir apparent.
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