While most commentators are impressed by his record - he has won the World Cup with Brazil and reached the final of the European Championship with Portugal - some have questioned the wisdom of appointing another foreign coach to lead the England national team.
David Gold, the Birmingham chairman, led the chorus of disapproval, insisting it was "a betrayal of Englishmen and English fans".
Gold once claimed he would kill himself if Eriksson's successor was not from England and, while stopping short of carrying out his threat, reiterated his condemnation of the FA's apparent choice.
"If I was voting for a world manager of the year then I might vote for Mr Scolari who has a brilliant record," he began. "But no matter how brilliant a coach someone from abroad may be, it is a betrayal of Englishmen and England fans. The majority of the England fans want an English manager, not an an overseas manager.
"We want an English manager that we can relate to. We all support the England team and part of that is an English manager. I expect the players and the manager to be English."
Gary Lineker, the former England forward, also questioned the decision to approach Scolari and is less convinced by his top-level credentials. "I'm surprised that they've gone for Scolari. He's got great credentials by winning the World Cup, but he did it with Brazil - my granny could probably have managed Brazil to World Cup success," Lineker said.
"He clearly knows his stuff but it's the difference culturally and the football between Brazil and England that worries me. I think it will take him three or four years just to work out the crazy game we play in this country."
Lineker, who is now a television presenter, believes the FA should have approached a coach with more experience of European football. "I'm slightly baffled," he added. "I thought if they went internationally they would go for someone who had some sort of connection with English football. Go knock Wenger's door down. Maybe he's too clever to take it? Maybe somebody closer like Guus Hiddink who has worked in Europe."
Mark Hughes, the Blackburn manager, is also not convinced Scolari is the right man for the job. "Whether or not he is the best man for the job when he is coaching and working with players with a different mentality to those he has worked with before, remains to be seen.
"Would Arsene Wenger or Sir Alex Ferguson be the best man because they have worked here for many, many years, know the mentality of English players and how to get the best out of them?"
Other commentators were more pro-Scolari and believe the Brazilian's experience can only enhance England's chances in major tournaments.
Alan Mullery, the former England captain, believes Scolari is the right man to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson but also feels that the Football Association have made a mess of their protracted deliberations to secure a new coach.
"You have got to get the best man for the job, and if you look at his record, he's won the World Cup in 2002, he's reached the final of the European Championships last time out with Portugal. He is a vastly experienced international manager and if we look at the group of people we have as Englishmen, very, very few other than Steve McClaren have the experience that he's got."
"If you're going to advertise a job of that quality - and it is one of the best jobs in the world - then you are looking for somebody with the experience who's done well in another country. You can't ask for much better than what he's got."
However, Scolari is still under contract with Portugal and faces a possible conflict of interests if the teams meet in the World Cup.
"It's an awful mess," Mullery added. "If they had gone for Scolari in the first place then it wouldn't have been this mess. They could have kept it quiet and could have said, 'We'll announce it after the World Cup'. Portugal will now be very unhappy this has been announced in the press before the World Cup."
The FA's approach to Scolari also seems to have gone down well with England supporters. Mark Perryman, a prominent England fan activist, believes the former World Cup winner has by far the best credentials to take over the post.
"I'm very, very happy. I think he's the strongest candidate," Perryman said. "I'm sad in the sense the strongest candidates right now aren't English candidates but I think we are in a much stronger position compared to 2000 when Kevin Keegan resigned. I think we can look forward with optimism to the future.
"Steve McClaren and Sam Allardyce in particular are very strong candidates," he said. "But it would be a huge risk to appoint those when Scolari - who has managed Brazil to the World Cup final and won it, has won the equivalent of the Champions League in South America on two occasions and has managed Portugal to the Euro 2004 final - is clearly the outstanding candidate."
Stuart Pearce, the Manchester City manager who was considered an outsider for the England job, also tunred his attention to the English applicants who appear to have been overlooked by the FA.
"I do recognise that there are Englishmen who feel they are experienced enough to do the job and I can understand they are frustrated if they haven't got it. I am surprised it's not an Englishman because the groundswell of public opinion seemed to be pushing towards someone of that nature."
