Phil Gould has suggested a left-field option to fill the vacant head coaching role at South Sydney in the wake of Jason Demetriou being sacked by the club.
After taking over from Wayne Bennett in 2022, Demetriou took the side to a prelim final in his first season, but has failed to follow that with continued success, with the Rabbitohs stranded on the bottom of the NRL ladder after eight rounds.
While the likes of Bennett and Ben Hornby have emerged as early front-runners for the position, Gould may have discovered the next head coach in waiting.
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Brian McDermott – who spent time in the Super League with Leeds and now works at the Newcastle Knights as an assistant – recently met with Gould and left quite the mark on the long-time rugby league coach and administrator.
"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."
McDermott played 250 professional games for the Bradford Bulls and represented Great Britain on four occasions, before moving into the coaching ranks with Leeds, where he spent eight seasons and won four Super League titles in a dominant era for the club.
As well as his deep resume in rugby league, McDermott also served in the British Army and fought as a professional boxer.
Gould claimed that the Knights are hopeful of keeping McDermott on their coaching staff next year, but could risk losing him for a higher-ranking role at another club.
Adam O'Brien is signed as Newcastle's head coach until the end of 2027.
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