In 1997, Nishino returned to Kashiwa Reysol and became an assistant coach. In 1998, he became a manager. In 1999, he led the club to win the J.League Cup. In 2000, the club won the 3rd place in J1 League for 2 years in a row and he received "Best Managers award". However, he was sacked for poor performance in July 2001. In 2002, he signed with Gamba Osaka. In 2005, the club won J1 League for the first time in club history and he was selected for the "Best Manager award". In 2008, the club won AFC Champions League and the 3rd place at Club World Cup. He was also selected "AFC Coach of the Year awards". The club also won the 2007 J.League Cup, the 2008 and the 2009 Emperor's Cup. He resigned end of 2011 season. In May 2012, he signed with Vissel Kobe as Masahiro Wada's successor. However, he was sacked in November. In 2014, he signed with Nagoya Grampus and managed the club until 2015.