Jon Sharp will be the next head coach of Bradford Bulls.
TotalRL understands the former Featherstone and Huddersfield head coach has agreed to take over thr Bulls after Geoff Toovey decided against a return to the Bulls next year.
Toovey wasn’t present for the start of the club’s pre-season training last week and the players were instead addressed by club owner Andrew Chalmers, who is understood to have told the squad Toovey had yet to make a decision on his future.
Toovey spent one season in charge of the Bulls after joining the club at short notice following its resurrection last year. However, the Australian was unable to help the club overturn a 12 point deficit issued following liquidation and the Bulls were relegated to League 1.
The 48-year-old’s future has been the subject of much debate since the club was relegated in August, with Toovey himself openly admitting he was uncertain about his future.
However, it is now believed the Bulls have agreed terms with 50-year-old Sharp, who has been out of a job since his contract with Featherstone Rovers was not renewed when it expired midway through last season.
During his two years at Featherstone, Sharp won the Championship Shield and in his first full season in charge guided them to the Qualifiers, before helping them secure a second consecutive top-four spot in 2017 along with a place in the Challenge Cup quarter-final.
Before that, he had taken up a role as head of match officials at the RFL, where he had started working in 2011. He had previously been the head coach of Huddersfield for five seasons and guided the Giants to the 2006 Challenge Cup Final.
A deal to bring Sharp to the Bulls is expected to be agreed this month and he is likely to take pre-season training.