Wayne Bennett has fired back at the suggestion NRL clubs have a history of failing soon after he leaves a job.
The long-held belief in rugby league circles was reignited this week when South Sydney sacked Jason Demetriou as head coach.
It continues a bizarre trend of Bennett successors failing to replicate his success when following in his footsteps, and ultimately losing their jobs because of it.
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Coaches at Brisbane, St George Illawarra, and Newcastle have also been dumped in the few short years after replacing Bennett at the helm.
He took the Rabbitohs to a grand final in 2021 before handing the reins to his long-time assistant Demetriou, who was axed on Tuesday to end a disastrous 12 months in the Burrow.
When fronting media as part of his Dolphins commitments on Friday, Bennett was asked why the men who follow him seem to fail so spectacularly.
"Well that's not my fault," Bennett shot back.
He did, though, offer some hope for Demetriou, who was pinned as a long-term NRL coach but suddenly finds himself on the scrapheap after less than three years.
Demetriou worked under Bennett at the Broncos, before following him to Sydney where he was groomed as the Rabbitohs head coach.
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"I still believe in him as a coach. I know he can coach," Bennett said.
"But something has gone amiss there and I'm not sure what that is, I haven't asked a lot of questions and don't intend to at the moment.
"But coaching is a tough job. There's things happen and I've been fortunate… it's only happened to me once (being sacked). It doesn't make you a bad person.
"He's a good man and there's a future for him out there in rugby league."
The irony is Bennett looks set to capitalise on Demetriou's failure.
South Sydney has tabled the supercoach a three-year offer to return in 2025, and Bennett is interested in the role.
Bennett will hand the reins of the Dolphins to his current assistant, Kristian Woolf, at the end of this year.
"Well I'm going to be unemployed (so) I need a job," Bennett said on Friday.
"I don't know why (South Sydney) want me. We spoke about an opportunity in the future and we said we'd get our weekend of football away and we'll speak next week. We haven't got to next week.
"I like their brand, I like them. I've worked with them, I can relate with everybody there, it's an iconic club and I just like the vibe there."
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