Leeds Rhinos will embark on an “exhaustive” process to identify their next head coach but chief executive Gary Hetherington is keen to find a new role at Headingley for Richard Agar. Agar has stepped down as head coach, ending a tenure that began in May 2019, initially on an interim basis, following the sacking of Australian Dave Furner.
Agar steadied the ship and guided the Rhinos away from relegation danger in 2019 before winning his first major trophy as a head coach the following season with victory over Salford in the Challenge Cup final. After taking Leeds to the play-off semi-finals last term, the close-season acquisition of Blake Austin, Aidan Sezer, David Fusitu’a and James Bentley encouraged hopes of a title challenge this year.
But Leeds have lost five of their opening six Super League games, prompting Agar to throw in towel and leave Hetherington searching for a new man. Assistant coach Jamie Jones-Buchanan has been appointed interim head coach but Hetherington will leave no stone unturned in his bid to find a top-class permanent successor to Agar.
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The Headingley supremo said: “It will be a pretty exhaustive search and there are no red lines – we will start with a blank piece of paper to identify someone with the skillset we are looking for. We need somebody to take on the current group of players and make a greater impact within the club.
“It’s a pretty demanding job, like any head coaching job in Super League, and even more so at a club like Leeds Rhinos, so it needs someone with special personal qualities and ability, determination and desire – all the facets you look for.
“That will be a pretty exhaustive search and in many ways that begins today. There is no timescale on when that needs to be concluding by. Like I say, we are starting with a blank piece of paper and the players have a pretty strong coaching staff.
“Jamie Jones-Buchanan will step up to take the responsibilities as head coach along with Sean Long. We’ve got a very strong squad and support staff, so Jamie will assume those responsibilities as head coach and I don’t know for how long. He has got the personality and the character to make a difference. It’s a strong squad and results are capable of being turned around.”
After Kevin Sinfield quit his position as director of rugby midway through last season, Leeds did not replace him. Agar was expected to move upstairs into Sinfield’s old job at some point with a new head coach being appointed. Now Agar has resigned, the succession plan appears to have been thrown into doubt but Hetherington said that he would like the former Hull FC and Wakefield Trinity boss to stay at the club.
He added: “Clearly there always going to be a successor to Richard – no coach stays in their job forever – so there would at some stage need to be a replacement. Richard would be instrumental in identifying that replacement.
“The timescale was within our own hands. On such a strong finish to last season, and making squad changes, we all believed that Richard was in a perfect place to continue in the job. There was no immediacy to bring in another head coach, but now of course the situation is different because we now have a vacancy.
“The plan is that Richard would be part and parcel of our club for many years to come and play in a very important role. That’s why we are obviously keen to retain his services going forward. We need to take a bit of time out and identify exactly what that role is.
“It’s only three years ago when Richard was appointed that we had Kevin Sinfield here as well overseeing the rugby operation. When we look at all facets of the department, it’s quite significant.
“Of course we have no longer got Kevin or Richard or a head coach. But there are some significant responsibilities which need to be filled and Richard is very capable of filling the roles within that department.
“So that in itself needs looking at, thinking about and working through. Once again, we’ve got a strong operation so it’s not something we’re going to do today or tomorrow – but it will be done in due course.”
It remains to be seen whether Leeds seek to poach a head coach currently in work at a rival Super League or NRL club. The Rhinos host Castleford Tigers in the Challenge Cup on Saturday and Hetherington added: “It’s about bringing in someone who will be here for the long term and be part and parcel of our organisation.
“It’s a big decision for the club to make and therefore it’s not one that we will be rushed into. One of the essences of our organisation is long-term thinking.
We do have a short-term problem in that we need to turn around the results of the team. And we do believe we’ve got the people in place to do that.
“Jamie has an opportunity of imposing his personality, character and ideas on that role. That doesn’t concern me, but I’m hoping everybody in the club can get behind each other and for our resurgence to be a real team effort.
“That’s the short-term issue that we’ve got, but what is always behind our thinking is the longer-term vision and goal. It’s a challenge and I don’t underestimate the enormity of that challenge because it’s one that we need to get right. That’s why it will be quite an exhaustive process.”
