HIGH-RANKING NRL club official Phil Gould has floated the idea of former Super League boss Brian McDermott to take over at the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The Rabbitohs have been in the news in recent weeks with the axing of Jason Demetriou as head coach as the rumour mill about who will take over at the Redfern club on a permanent deal.
Assistant coach Ben Hornby has been handed the reins on an interim period until the end of the 2024 NRL season, but former England and Great Britain coach Wayne Bennett has also been linked with the job.
Gould, Canterbury Bulldogs’ general manager, has put McDermott’s name into the equation.
McDermott won four Super League titles, two Challenge Cups and one World Club Challenge whilst in charge of the Rhinos – and Gould was impressed by his ideas.
“He was brilliant – he reached out to me wanting to talk footy,” Gould said on Wide World of Sports’ Six Tackles With Gus podcast.
“He is very impressive and the reason I took the time to do it was because Andrew Johns told me he’s made a big difference at Newcastle. He came there last year when they had that big run into the finals. They speak very highly of him at Newcastle.
“Not that I’m telling Souths how to suck eggs – but on the conversation I had with him, I was very impressed with him. His thoughts on football, he has done a lot, he has achieved a lot … he’s had success coaching in the Super League.
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“There’s a bloke who could be available to any of the clubs that might be looking for a new coach. I probably shouldn’t have spoken about it, but I’m glad I did.
“He looked like a bloke who would certainly drive culture and his ideas on rugby league I really enjoyed.”
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