Gold Coast will have to look beyond Kevin Walters for their next NRL head coach after the Queensland State of Origin mentor ruled himself out of the position.
Walters had been heavily linked with the Titans even before Garth Brennan was sacked on Sunday but the 51-year-old says he has unfinished business with the Maroons.
Queensland’s defeat in Wednesday’s game three decider in Sydney means the Maroons have lost the past two Origin campaigns and Walters says his focus is on halting the Blues’ winning run.
“I’m really committed to Queensland … I just feel there’s some business there for next year around Origin that I want to be competing on and want to be in charge of,” Walters told Fox Sports.
“That’s what I want to do.”
Walters’ decision means St Helens coach Justin Holbrook as well as Sydney Roosters assistants Craig Fitzgibbon and Adam O’Brien are the early frontrunners for the role.
Brennan was axed after winning 12 of 40 matches since his appointment in 2017 with Titans executive chairman Dennis Watt describing his position as “untenable”.
Assistants Craig Hodges and Luke Burt will take over the Titans on an interim basis until the end of the season with the club saying a replacement for Brennan will be announced “at a later date”.
Walters said it was the right idea for the Titans to take their time to find the right man for the role.
“They need to take their time to get the right person in that position,” Walters said.
“They’ve battled all along haven’t they down at the Coast, since their inception way back in 1988, to get a footprint on the Gold Coast.
“It’s a tough one but it’d also be a good opportunity for some coach coming in. Who that is, I’ll leave that up to the Titans.”
E-Meter
Roar Rookie
Mr Fairweathered aka Kevin Walters
terrance
Guest
Not sure it's that simple Clanger. Let's face it, Kevin Walters was keen on the Tigers when they were a basket case and they still haven't moved a great deal forward since. Titans no different. I suspect that Kevin Walters was told by the Titans that they were after a more experienced NRL head coach (Sheens, Griffin, Toovey, maybe Henry again) or a younger up and coming coach with a bit of success under the belt already (Holbrook), or an experience assistant who have worked with successful long-term NRL coaches (Adam O'Brien from Roosters via Melbourne). Many ''unsuccessful'' applicants for coaching roles (Maguire at Manly, Toovey at the Warriors, Hasler for NZ national team) rule themselves out in the media for an irrational reason to limit a career catastrophic rejection. If club A didn't want them, why would club B consider them in the future? Likewise, some assistant coaches will never make head coach due to longevity in an assistant role (David Fairleigh, David Kidwell, Tony Iro, Jim Dymock, Kevin Walters) and some who were head NRL coaches for a short period of time appear to be better assistants (Jason Taylor, David Furner, Dean Pay (tbc), Steve Price, Trent Barrett). I'm not sure who'll be at the Titans next year as coach, but Kevin Walters was not the answer. I'd go with O'Brien as head coach, with Toovey as one of the assistants with Sheens as Head of Football.
Doug Graves
Guest
"Walters’ decision means St Helens coach Justin Holbrook as well as Sydney Roosters assistants Craig Fitzgibbon and Adam O’Brien are the early frontrunners for the role." Ha, ha, ha, Oh Wow! What's next, Matt Parish is in the running? Titans are an embarrassment to the game, just boot them from the comp and bring in a 2nd Brisbane team already.
Sideline Eye
Guest
Gold Coast Soccer team. The AFL Suns. The Titans. Is there a common theme? Lack of success = low crowds = continuation of lack of success. Neil Henry may have done something with the side however The Mighty Hayne Plane ensured that wouldn't happen.
Clanger McClunk
Guest
Kevin is smarter than I gave him credit for. He makes no secret of his desire to be an NRL coach but going to the titans would be a career killer. That club has major problems aside from it's failure on the paddock. What the solution is, I don't know. Rugby League needs well performing teams in areas outside it's heartland but history has shown RL fails on the Gold Coast. Maybe the buffoon who coaches NSW is right, relocate the GC to Brisbane where a RL market already exists.
Emcie
Roar Guru
@#$%! Come on Titans, take one for the team...