The Queensland Reds have announced who will succeed Les Kiss as the team\u2019s head coach, with Vern Cotter making the switch from the Blues, a move that rules him out of the running for the All Blacks\u2019 head coach gig.<\/p>\n
On Monday, New Zealand Rugby publicly advertised the All Blacks<\/a> head coach position and set a strict criteria that has whittled down the potential successors even further.<\/p>\n The union states that candidates must be a New Zealander and have international experience as a head coach.<\/p>\n Vern Cotter to succeed Les Kiss<\/p>\n Outgoing Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt has reportedly ruled himself out of the running<\/a> \u2013 he fit the criteria perfectly<\/a> \u2013 and he has taken another experienced operator with him in the form of Cotter, who will trade Auckland for Queensland after this year\u2019s Super Rugby Pacific season.<\/p>\n The Reds have been on the market for a head coach following the confirmation that their current boss, Kiss<\/a>, would be taking over from Schmidt at the Wallabies and turned their attention to Cotter late last year.<\/p>\n The 2024 Super Rugby Pacific-winning coach with the Blues has signed a two-year deal with the Queensland Rugby Union, starting from 2027.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was contacted about the position, I was chuffed and proud,\u201d Cotter said in a statement on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cAustralian rugby<\/a> and Australian sport fascinates me. To work in that culture excites me and when the QRU laid out their plans for the Reds, it was compelling.<\/p>\n \u201cI did my homework. The Queensland mindset is strong. The history of players who have been produced for the Reds and Wallabies, and the junior nurseries behind them, tells me there is scope for the Reds to keep growing.<\/p>\n \u201cI pride myself on always looking to improve myself as a coach and I certainly feel this can make me a better coach. \u2018We train to win\u2019 is always my position.\u201d<\/p>\n NZ Rugby\u2019s shambolic treatment of Scott Robertson revealed as sacked coach \u2018given no indication\u2019 of All Blacks player issue \u2013 report<\/a><\/p>\n Joe Schmidt\u2019s role and the All Blacks\u2019 job<\/p>\n A conversation with Schmidt further convinced Cotter that the Reds were a good fit for the former Fiji and Scotland head coach, who also enjoyed success with Top 14 club Clermont and is vastly experienced in Super Rugby, having also worked with the Crusaders.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was important that I speak to someone who knew the players and who had experience with the environment and rugby in Australia\u2026he\u2019s got a glowing report of rugby in Australia,\u201d Cotter said of Schmidt.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a great conversation with Joe, and he was very complimentary of the playing roster that\u2019s there, sees some upward growth within that group of internationals, but also players that will potentially become internationals.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it was a reassuring conversation and Joe\u2019s a good friend of mine. We\u2019re often in contact and have been quite a lot over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n While Jamie Joseph and Dave Rennie have emerged as two of the frontrunners to replace Scott Robertson as the All Blacks head coach, Cotter\u2019s name has also been put forward, but the 64-year-old\u2019s move to Queensland has ruled him out of the race.<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n He plans to stick by his commitment to the team, with whom he signed a two-year deal with late last year before Robertson\u2019s exit was confirmed.<\/p>\n Cotter says that he was \u2018blindsided\u2019 by the decision from New Zealand Rugby, and while he would love to work with the All Blacks, the timing simply did not work for the coach who competed for the head coach role back in 2011, with Steve Hansen ultimately getting the job.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a surprise. We were well down conversations with the Reds,\u201d Cotter said of Robertson\u2019s exit.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a bit blindsided by the Razor thing. No one thought that was coming. There was a review after two years and two years before the World Cup but we were too far down the track. It would\u2019ve been hard to say \u2018I\u2019m going to make myself available for the All Blacks\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone would love to coach the All Blacks, but it\u2019s timing and it didn\u2019t work out.\u201d<\/p>\n