{"id":567668,"date":"2026-03-27T11:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T11:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/567668\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T11:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T11:12:10","slug":"manly-sea-eagles-coaching-search-who-are-the-contenders-manly-fire-anthony-seibold-opinion-analysis-michael-ennis-brad-arthur-reaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/567668\/","title":{"rendered":"Manly Sea Eagles coaching search, who are the contenders, Manly fire Anthony Seibold, opinion, analysis, Michael Ennis, Brad Arthur, reaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manly have dropped an early bombshell on the 2026 season, relieving coach Anthony Seibold of his duties just three games into their campaign. <\/a><\/p>\n

The Sea Eagles are soon expected to name an interim coach from within the club who will hold that role for the remainder of the season, but the hunt will be on for a full time coach from 2027.<\/p>\n

There is one less candidate they could hire after news Hull KR coach Willie Peters has accepted the job as the inaugural PNG Chiefs coach.<\/p>\n

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Foxsports.com.au names the contenders to win the full-time Sea Eagles\u2019 head coaching gig.<\/p>\n

FRONTRUNNERS<\/p>\n

Brad Arthur<\/p>\n

Arthur is currently in England, under contract with Leeds until the end of this season, meaning there\u2019s an opportunity to head back to Australia to potentially take the now vacant Manly job.<\/p>\n

As The Daily Telegraph\u2019s Brent Read said on Fox League, Arthur is at the top of Manly\u2019s list.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrad Arthur is a guy who just missed out on the PNG job. He\u2019ll be in the thick of it,\u201d Read reported.<\/p>\n

However, the former Eels mentor sounded like a man who was content to stay put when speaking to Fox League in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwelve months ago I would have said I was really desperate to get back but I feel like I\u2019m a lot more settled now \u2026 I\u2019m really comfortable,\u201d Arthur said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment yeah, I feel like I\u2019ve got some unfinished business and I\u2019d like to get that opportunity but when that opportunity comes I\u2019ll be ready and I know I\u2019ll be a better coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, if the Sea Eagles come calling, it\u2019ll be hard for Arthur to resist an interview.<\/p>\n

Arthur was sacked by the Eels after 10 rounds in 2024, following 137 wins from 264 games in charge of Parramatta from 2012 to 2024, including the 2022 Grand Final loss to the Panthers.<\/p>\n

Matt Ballin<\/p>\n

It\u2019d be a homecoming for Ballin, who is a favourite son at Brookvale, having played 217 games for Manly between 2007 and 2015.<\/p>\n

The 42-year-old was named as a leading contender by Code Sports <\/a>alongside Michael Ennis.<\/p>\n

Ballin has had an impressive apprenticeship as he\u2019s currently on the Broncos\u2019 staff under Michael Maguire and is an assistant for the Maroons.<\/p>\n

However, what might work against him is his absence of head coaching experience.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear if the Sea Eagles will be wanting an experienced hire but if not, Ballin is sure to come under consideration. <\/p>\n

\u201cBallin is another guy in contention and as I understand, has the support of the old boys at the club,\u201d Read said.<\/p>\n

Michael Ennis<\/p>\n

The Fox League expert and Dragons assistant coach is reportedly on the Manly shortlist alongside Ballin and Arthur.<\/p>\n

Ennis spent last season under Seibold at the Sea Eagles before linking up with his former coach Shane Flanagan at St. George-Illawarra. <\/p>\n

Ennis is well-regarded and is considered an NRL coach in waiting, but like Ballin, the lack of head coaching experience may work against him.<\/p>\n

Although, given he\u2019s been labelled an early frontrunner in reports, it seems Manly aren\u2019t averse to bringing in a rookie head coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cMick\u2019s been a guy who has made no secret of his aspirations to be a head coach,\u201d Read said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m as surprised. I certainly didn\u2019t see it coming,\u201d Ennis said on the Fox League panel in response to Read\u2019s report at half time of the Broncos-Dolphins clash.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been no conversation around it in all honesty.\u201d<\/p>\n

OPINION: NRL brutal truth turned Seibold\u2019s house to ash. He\u2019s just the first domino<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018SHOCKED\u2019: Manly assistant reacts to Seibold stunner<\/a><\/p>\n

Ennis & Foz react to Seibold sacking | 03:15<\/p>\n

OUTSIDE CHANCES<\/p>\n

Jason Demetriou<\/p>\n

Demetriou was eyeing off the PNG Chiefs gig but those plans have been thwarted given the NRL\u2019s 19th franchise has reportedly agreed to terms with Willie Peters.<\/p>\n

The former Souths mentor has made no secret of his desire to return to the NRL.<\/p>\n

Currently, he is in his first season at the helm of the London Broncos, who are on top of the ladder of the Betfred Championship, England\u2019s second tier comp.<\/p>\n

In fact, the Broncos are unbeaten from six games with a staggering points differential of 290.<\/p>\n

While Demetriou might be an outside hope for now, his fast start at the Broncos likely won\u2019t go under notice.<\/p>\n

Matt King<\/p>\n

King has long served as an assistant at the Roosters under Trent Robinson.<\/p>\n

Craig Fitzgibbon has been a recent and successful graduate from the Tricolours\u2019 coaching ranks to make the head coaching transition.<\/p>\n

Many expect King to do the same in the future, spending nine invaluable years under Robinson after an impressive playing career.<\/p>\n

King was one of the leading candidates to take over the NSW Blues last season and was reportedly willing to leave his post to take the job.<\/p>\n

The 44-year-old was also an assistant under Michael Maguire for the Blues in 2024, and if his name is being floated for the top job at Origin level, he will almost certainly come into NRL calculations in the future.<\/p>\n

John Morris<\/p>\n

Morris is another on this list that has past experience as an NRL head coach.<\/p>\n

The 45-year-old was sacked by the Sharks in 2021, with Craig Fitzgibbon hired to take over in the Shire after having the final year of his deal cut short.<\/p>\n

It was a bold decision at the time and one that saw them miss out on the top eight, with Josh Hannay stepping in as caretaker coach for majority of the season.<\/p>\n

Morris has since been an assistant at the Rabbitohs before joining Benji Marshall at the Tigers, and he is widely considered a potential head coaching candidate.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more is his sacking was also considered to be a brutal move only five weeks into the season, after back-to-back finals appearances.<\/p>\n

He also achieved that top eight finish after the Sharks had $353,000 stripped from their cap, having to blood a host of new players a rebuild the squad.<\/p>\n

Kevin Walters<\/p>\n

Fox League\u2019s own Walters is keen to get back into the NRL coaching frame, but given he\u2019s the current Australian coach, he\u2019s a longshot for this gig, especially with a World Cup on the horizon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manly have dropped an early bombshell on the 2026 season, relieving coach Anthony Seibold of his duties just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[2095,8082,24164,64,63,689,176777,9421,49775,63402,4738,17343,11096,1208,2057,279286,763,15893,279285,248124,279283,279282,6086,84598,18387,2623,279281,4601,12412,32917,6407,761,762,2627,2041,2067,3583,158,677,279280,180081,4583,4439,85,279284,4737,2614],"class_list":["post-567668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-america","tag-anthony-seibold","tag-assistant-coach","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-back-to-back-finals-appearances","tag-benji-marshall","tag-caretaker-coach","tag-coaching-search","tag-craig-fitzgibbon","tag-daily-telegraph","tag-daniel-nuttall","tag-england","tag-europe","tag-experienced-mentor","tag-fox-league","tag-head-coaching","tag-head-coaching-candidate","tag-head-coaching-experience","tag-head-coaching-transition","tag-impressive-playing-career","tag-interim-coach","tag-jason-demetriou","tag-josh-hannay","tag-las-vegas","tag-lord-morris-of-aberavon","tag-manly-sea-eagles","tag-matt-king","tag-michael-ennis","tag-michael-maguire","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nevada","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-northern-europe","tag-nrl","tag-oceania","tag-rookie-coaches","tag-rookie-head-coach","tag-shane-flanagan","tag-south-sydney-rabbitohs","tag-sports","tag-tier-comp","tag-trent-robinson","tag-united-states-of-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}