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COMMENT: Whether or not Brad Thorn sees out the year as Reds coach is irrelevant. For the rest of the year, the Reds will be treading water.
Without a fit tight five, the Reds have Buckley’s of giving this year’s Super Rugby competition a shake.
What the Queensland Rugby Union needs is a coach with international pedigree and someone who can do three things.
First, make the Reds not just finals contenders but Super Rugby champions.
Second, get fans – and the media – excited to watch them play and read about them.
Third, ensure the players pulling on the jersey get back on track in an upwards trajectory rather than stagnate.
While the Reds want Robbie Deans as their next coach, the QRU should sign Michael Cheika. Photo: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images
Former Wallabies coach Robbie Deans might well be able to fulfil those criteria. But, realistically, the chances of the QRU signing Deans is slim given the successful career he has carved out in Japan.
With somewhat of a rebuilding mission required, Deans would be taking a massive gamble of trying to turn the Reds around. And for what point? Deans won’t return as Wallabies coach.
Instead, the QRU should put aside their egos, forget about politics and go hard after another former Wallabies coach. Michael Cheika.
The Reds need a heavy hitter and no one on the open market comes bigger than Cheika, with the Argentina coach likely to step away from Los Pumas following this year’s World Cup.
Before you spit out your coffee, hear me out.
Cheika has gravitas.
Like Eddie Jones, Cheika commands a room. When he speaks, you listen.
The moment he appeared on Stan Sport, the broadcaster’s quality rose exponentially.
Naysayers even got an insight into Cheika’s tactical nous. Who’d have thought?
Michael Cheika should become the Reds’ next coach. Photo: Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Rugby in Australia also needs characters. Without them, it’ll die a death. The money from private equity and a World Cup every two decades will run only so far.
Cheika versus Jones was a battle in itself when the two coaches went toe-for-toe in 2016.
Jones won on and off the field, but the two former Randwick forwards put Australian rugby front and centre of the sporting landscape in Australia.
The Reds need a circuit breaker, too.
While Thorn got the Reds back on track, they have gone backwards over the past 18 months.
Before then, the QRU stuffed up their coaching appointments.
The one move they got right was appointing a Victorian-born, New South Welshman-schooled, Ewen McKenzie, in late 2009.
In the space of two years, McKenzie, a man with almost a decade of head coaching experience and Jones’ former right-hand man at the 2003 World Cup, oversaw the Reds’ transformation from cellar-dwellers to champions.
Perhaps McKenzie benefitted from a side that was primed to succeed after being thrown in the deep end by Jones and developed by Phil Mooney, but some coaches can get more out of others. McKenzie could, and so can Cheika.
Former Reds coach Ewen McKenzie saw the franchise go from cellar-dwellers to champions in the space of two years. Photo Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
The Reds need to move away from tradition and throw the kitchen sink at landing Cheika.
Cheika has form turning underperforming sides into champions.
He cut through the bullshit at Leinster to lead the Dublin-based side to the top of Europe.
Ditto, the Waratahs.
He even found instant success at the Wallabies before losing his way.
Since leaving the Wallabies he has turned Argentina into a World Cup bolter.
Last year, Los Pumas defeated the Wallabies by a record margin at home, beat the All Blacks in New Zealand for the first time and knocked off Jones’ England at Twickenham.
What’s more, Cheika is an Australian. He loves the underdog status. He’s a match made in heaven for Queenslanders.
Michael Cheika (L) the Argentina head coach celebrates with captain Julian Montoya after their victory over England at Twickenham. Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
So, what’s in it for Cheika?
Well, Cheika wants to coach the Wallabies again down the track.
What better way than rebuilding your reputation in Australia and turning the Reds into a formidable outfit in the same way he did the Waratahs.
While there aren’t rivers of gold in Queensland, surely RA can get Stan involved. After all, he was on their broadcast team in previous years.
The Reds need a head coach who will pull the playing group into line and give them a purpose to play.
They don’t need an assistant coach learning on the run with little to no international experience.
They need a head coach.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.