Former Hull FC coach Lee Radford will not be the new coach of Castleford Tigers next season, when Daryl Powell departs his current job to head to Warrington Wolves.
League Express understands that Radford did make contact with the Tigers through an agent, but he is currently focused on his new job with the Dallas Jackals, a new rugby union club in the United States that will begin its first campaign in Major League Rugby in 2022.
Radford left Hull FC in March 2020, when he was sacked by Hull club owner Adam Pearson and he was then appointed as the defence coach for the Jackals three months later.
He should have flown out to the Texas city in September of last year, but their entry into Major League Rugby has been put back by a year because of the Covid epidemic.
“To go and coach in the United States is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Radford told League Express.
“I’m going to be their defence coach, and I’m now spending a lot of time studying rugby union tactics to prepare for that role.
“I’ll be flying out there in September to prepare for next season and I’m focused on doing that and making a strong impression. Who knows where my career might go from there?
There have been recent reports that Radford was firming as the favourite for the Castleford job, but that now appears to have been contradicted by Radford himself.
Warrington assistant coach Andrew Henderson was the initial favourite for the job, and League Express understands that both he and Lee Briers will leave Warrington at the end of the season, when Steve Price departs and Powell takes over, allowing Powell to appoint his own assistant coaches.
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