“Parachute him in and parachute him out.”
That is the bold suggestion from Code Sports reporter and regular NRL 360 guest Michael Carayannis to rival clubs as the future of Broncos coach Michael Maguire continues to come under the microscope.
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It seems hard to fathom that Maguire’s status at Brisbane would come under question given he is coming off a premiership-winning campaign, but that only strengthens Carayannis’ point.
He stressed it is not a “negative” one, but that the simple reality is that Maguire is not built to be a long-term coach.
Maguire’s early dismissals at both the Rabbitohs and Tigers were only further proof of it according to Carayannis, especially when you consider the success South Sydney had under his watch.
With that in mind, Carayannis said he actually believes Maguire has already “done his job” at the Broncos and that parting ways at the end of the year wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
“He’s won the comp at Brisbane… this is not a negative but I don’t think Michael Maguire’s style of coaching is for a long tenure at a club,” Carayannis said.
“If I’m Brisbane I’m going, ‘Thank you Madge, really appreciate you. Your job is done’. If I’m Michael Maguire, I’m going to go chase being the first coach to win three comps at three different clubs because if you’re a club at 80 per cent and you think you can win a premiership, he’s proven he can get you that next 20… so parachute him in and then parachute him out.
“I would be comfortable if they separated now at the end of the season. I’m not approaching this as a negative. Some coaches are 10-year coaches at one club, some coaches are three-year coaches at one club.”
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Maguire lasted six seasons at the Rabbitohs, taking them to a breakthrough premiership in 2014, while he took over the Tigers with hopes of transforming one of the NRL’s perennial underachievers only to be sacked in 2022.
The Broncos coach has built a reputation for his intensity which helped lead both the Rabbitohs and Brisbane to a premiership, with Adam Reynolds strong in his defence of Maguire earlier this month when asked if he needs to change his methods.
“Not at all. The approach hasn’t changed,” he said, adding that Maguire’s leadership “has been better than ever”.
“It’s the same last year. We got questioned last year. The same questions were coming up. Did he change his approach last year? No he didn’t.”
Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy also came out on the weekend and backed Maguire in after the team’s disappointing loss to South Sydney, although foxsports.com.au columnist Paul Crawley said that hardly guaranteed the coach’s future beyond this year.
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“He backed Kevvie weeks before Kevvie was gone and the fact of the matter is Brisbane are in freefall at the moment. They’ve lost six games in a row,” Crawley said on NRL 360.
“If they don’t turn it around before the end of this season there is no way in the world you can give security to a coach who is not winning and I know it’s coming off a premiership, but Kevvie was coming off a grand final.
“The problem with the modern game is that the suggestions have been that throughout Madge’s career that he can rub players the wrong way. He got out of it last year because he won a comp but it’s obvious at the moment something’s not clicking at that club.”
The Broncos have a legitimate excuse with their growing injury toll, but Crawley said he believes the club’s problems go “beyond injuries”.
“Something is not sitting well at that club,” he added.
“We had Payne Haas leave at the start of the year. If other players get to their time when they can get out and they start moving on, even if an administration is trying to look after itself because they’ve sacked too many coaches in the past and can’t admit getting it wrong again, they have to make a call.
“Otherwise it’s the club that loses.”