Foran\u2019s promotion is a bit of a shock given he had only hung up the boots last season and has been an assistant coach for just three games.<\/p>\n
The 318-game NRL great said he received a call late on Friday night where he was offered the position as interim coach of the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cI received a call late last night from Scott and Jason at the end of the day it\u2019s not in my nature to say no,\u201d Foran said on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere hasn\u2019t been a challenge that I haven\u2019t walked towards in my life or my professional career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know there will be plenty of people that would say there\u2019s no chance I\u2019m ready to take control of this team but I believe in myself, and my standards and values and if the club asks me because they think I\u2019m the best person to step into the role, I\u2019m going to take it on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if your ever ready for anything to be honest. I played 318 NRL games and at the end of the day I walked into a final at the end of my Test career and didn\u2019t know which way it was going to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love this club and I\u2019ve been asked to step into the interim coach role and that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foran said his first response after being offered the role was \u201care you sure, are you comfortable with the decision and the words from Scott and Jason were \u2018yes we are\u2019. I\u2019m extremely grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Joey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c2b23e83f3c0067a3c1fb3e5e84a0908.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Club chairman Scott Penn thanked Seibold for his time at the helm of the Sea Eagles, but reiterated the results weren\u2019t meeting the expectations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe back half of last year didn\u2019t meet our expectations and we capitulated in a few games. We did have a number of injuries but we also had solid leads but didn\u2019t finish them off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew we needed to turn it around this year so during the review process last year, we said we thought there was more potential in the team but we didn\u2019t see that progression in 2026. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe lost three games at home for first time in 20 years and we\u2019re not happy about that. It doesn\u2019t meet our standards. We need to win now and get back on the park and get everyone\u2019s head in the right space. We think Kieran is the best man to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
CEO Jason King doubled down on believing Kieran was the right man to lead the club out of its slump.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do really believe in Kieran and is the right person for the job. We couldn\u2019t have been more thrilled that he accepted the appointment,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of a longer plan, it\u2019s early days. We\u2019re focused on supporting Kieran as best as we can then think about an appropriate process to go through to think more broadly beyond 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
The extraordinary decision to axe Seibold came despite him having a contract that was due to run until the end of next season.<\/p>\n
According to Code Sports, Seibold is expected to receive a payout of more than $300,000 from Manly.<\/p>\n
The axing likely spells the end of the 51-year-old\u2019s career as an NRL head coach.<\/p>\n
Seibold, 51, was coach of the Rabbitohs for one season in 2018 and spent two seasons as coach of the Brisbane Broncos before he was sacked.<\/p>\n
He had been coach of Manly since 2023 and this was his fourth season in charge.<\/p>\n
It comes on a day that the PNG Chiefs appointed the highly touted Willie Peters as the inaugural coach of the expansion side.<\/p>\n