Adams, 60, is understood to be retiring from his position and will be replaced by current head of recruitment Lee Dunn, who will step up to support sporting director Ben Knapper as his number two at Carrow Road.
Norwich will then look to replace Dunn by hiring a new recruitment chief, with a decision to be made about whether to look externally or to promote internally.
Confirmation of Adams’ exit is expected in the coming days, which will end a long-association working for the club.
Adams, who made over 200 appearances for Norwich as a player, returned to the club to coach in the academy in 2008, alongside working in his match summariser role for Radio Norfolk, and writing a regular newspaper column.
He quit those roles in 2011 to take on a full-time coaching role with Norwich’s academy, becoming the manager of their under-18s side. Adams led City’s youngsters to a historic FA Youth Cup triumph in 2013, beating Chelsea 1-0 at Carrow Road and 3-2 at Stamford Bridge in a two-legged final.
After Chris Hughton’s sacking, Adams stepped into the dug-out at senior level on an interim basis before being handed the permanent job in May 2014. He took charge of just 32 games prior to resigning, with Alex Neil going on to lead the team to promotion via the play-offs.
Adams returned to City as loans manager at the end of July 2015 after a brief spell with England U17s. He eventually earned his promotion to assistant sporting director under Stuart Webber in September 2021.
Dunn, who has worked closely with Knapper, continues his progress at Norwich. He joined the club in 2013 as a match analyst and has climbed the recruitment ranks prior to becoming head of that department in 2021.
Speaking to the Pink Un back in October 2024, Dunn explained his relationship with Knapper, saying: “We have similar backgrounds, obviously at different levels. But I think we have differences as well. And, so far, I think that relationship has been really strong with Ben.
“Like you said, we have similar ideologies around how a recruitment department should work, but we also have differences, and I think that’s healthy as well.
“I’ve been here nearly 11 and a half years. Chris Hughton was the first manager when I arrived. I started off in post-match analysis, and then every 18 to 24 months, my role seemed to develop and led me to become a head of analysis under Alex Neil, which was an enjoyable time.”
Norwich’s head of football development Dean Rastrick is also understood to be in talks over taking a similar role at Premier League side Everton. He returned to the club in 2023 to succeed Steve Weaver after a prolonged spell at Tottenham Hotspur.