Sam Allardyce will step down as West Bromwich Albion manager at the end of the season, the club confirmed after Wednesday's 3-1 home defeat against West Ham United in the Premier League.
Allardyce took charge in December after Slaven Bilic was sacked but was unable to save the Midlands club from an immediate return to the Championship.
"West Bromwich Albion made me a generous offer to stay at The Hawthorns that shows the commitment of an ambitious club," Allardyce said in a statement.
"After serious consideration I have decided not to accept that offer."
The former England, Bolton, Newcastle and West Ham boss added that he believed the club needs a younger manager to take them forward and that West Brom's hierarchy had sought his opinion on the matter.
He said: "If I were to stay and achieve promotion next season the expectation would be for me to continue for at least another season and, sadly, that is not a commitment I feel able to make at this stage of my career.
"I believe the club now needs stability and continuity and this would, in my opinion, best be provided by a young and ambitious manager who can get us back to where we should be as an established Premier League football club.
"The club have asked for my opinion on the qualities my successor will require and I have been more than happy to offer my thoughts. The search for my replacement starts after the final game of the season at Leeds United. In the meantime, we will be concentrating fully on the preparation for that game and will do everything we can to finish the season with as many points as possible."
The Baggies had made no secret of their desire for Allardyce to remain in charge despite their relegation.
Sporting and technical director Luke Dowling said: "Sam, Sammy [Lee] and Robbie [Stockdale] came in at a really difficult time for the football club and worked tirelessly in their efforts to keep the club in the Premier League.
"Unfortunately, collectively, we were unable to achieve our goal of surviving relegation. In the second half of the season we played with passion and desire, delivering some memorable results with organised, entertaining football.
"Ultimately, we were unable to accumulate the points total required to keep us here, but Sam certainly restored pride with a number of resilient displays.
"Sam, Ken (chief executive Xu Ke) and I have discussed at length our plans for the future and we very much hoped to have Sam in charge for next season and beyond."
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