Who’s next for Red Devils after Marshall departure?

SALFORD could look to appoint from within as they start the hunt for a new coach following Richard Marshall’s departure.

The 45-year-old former Halifax chief has left by mutual consent after less than a year at Red Devils helm.
The announcement came in the wake of the 26-14 home win over St Helens, where Marshall was assistant to Kristian Woolf before succeeding Ian Watson at Salford.
While the club made the 2019 Grand Final and 2020 Challenge Cup final under the current Huddersfield coach, they finished a disappointing eleventh in Super League this year.
The other two bottom-three teams, Wakefield and basement side Leigh, both made coaching changes earlier this season.
Ex-Wakefield chief Chris Chester, Andrew Henderson and Lee Briers, who are both leaving the coaching set-up at Warrington, former London Broncos boss Danny Ward and Brian McDermott, the ex-Leeds and Toronto coach who has been acting as a consultant at Oldham, have all been linked with Salford.
But Danny Orr, who was assistant to Marshall, and Paul Rowley, the club’s head of rugby development, talent and pathways, could both be candidates.
Former Great Britain halfback or hooker Orr, 43, has served his apprenticeship, working under Daryl Powell for seven years a Castleford, where he had two spells as a player, before linking up with Marshall.
Meanwhile, ex-England hooker Rowley, 46, can boast impressive statistics from his time in charge of both hometown club Leigh, where he had two spells as a player, and Toronto.
Former Halifax, Huddersfield, London Broncos, Leigh and Ireland forward Marshall cut his coaching teeth under Tony Smith at Warrington before a 2015 switch to Halifax, whom he guided to the Qualifiers section of the Super 8s on a tight budget in 2017.
But he has struggled for consistency at Salford, who revealed his departure in a brief statement.
Despite parting company with Marshall, Salford have agreed contract extensions with winger Ken Sio and prop Jack Ormondroyd, having signed Scotland international fullback or halfback Ryan Brierley.
Brierley, 29, has penned a two-year deal with the Red Devils to start next season, when the club are seeking a big improvement on this year’s second-bottom finish.
Salford will also have Brisbane Broncos halfback Brodie Croft and Wigan hooker Amir Bourouh on board.
And they are expected to announce shortly Leeds’ Fiji international prop King Vuniyayawa as another new signing for 2022.
Brierley has scored 193 tries in 224 career appearances for Huddersfield, Toronto, Hull KR and Leigh, where he has had two spells.
This year he has crossed ten times and kicked 28 goals in 18 games.
“I need to be playing Super League whilst I feel I’m playing my best rugby,” he said.
Australian Sio, who was signed from Newcastle Knights in 2019, when he helped Salford reach the Grand Final, was Super League’s top tryscorer in regular season just finished with 19 tries.
The former Parramatta Eels and Hull KR player also crossed twice to help the Combined Nations All Stars to a 26-24 win over England in June.
He has extended his contract through to the end of 2023, as has Ormondroyd, 29, who was signed from Featherstone in 2020 and has cemented a regular spot this season.
“We’ve got a good group of lads that I’ve enjoyed playing with, and I’ve managed to get quite a few games under my belt, which I’m happy about,” said Ormondroyd.
“I’m looking forward to getting stuck into pre-season next year, and hopefully having a good campaign on the back of it.”