Wigan Warriors’ assistant Paul Deacon has given his verdict on if he would ever want to become a head coach in Super League, with the 47-year-old returning to rugby league after a decade of working in rugby union.

Deacon, who made over 300 appearances for Bradford Bulls before moving to his hometown club Wigan to end his career, made the switch to coach rugby union in 2015.

He’s been one of many rugby league legends to find success coaching in the 15-man code, spending all his time with Sale Sharks before leaving at the end of the 2025 season.

That sparked a return to rugby league with Deacon revealing on Sky Sports’ The Bench podcast that it was Matt Peet who rang him to facilitate a Wigan Warriors’ return.

Since then Deacon has worked in somewhat of a specialist role, focusing on the first and last plays with Wigan’s coaching ethos identifying those areas of transition as key to winning games.

Speaking on changes to the sport since his return, Deacon explained: “It’s definitely changed in small parts like the six agains and the amount of balls in play now, I think, has gone up massively since I left.”

Wigan Warriors coach ‘still learning’ after rugby league return

One thing that he identified that has remained constant is the power of possession , stating: “I’ve noticed that you’ve got to play a little bit different, the shapes are a little bit different, but it hasn’t changed massively. Possession and territory are still the most important thing. They’ve not changed at all.”

Despite only being back at Wigan for less than a year, Deacon was asked if he held aspirations to become a head coach in Super League further down the line, with the Warriors’ assistant admitting he still has a long way to go.

“Maybe, maybe. I mean, I’m still learning the game,” he responded.

“I’ve been away from it for 10 years, and just them last six weeks of last season were so enjoyable for me to get back into it.

“I’m nowhere near (ready to be a head coach) there yet. I mean, I’m still studying the form sheet and the team sheets of who’s playing on the opposition, whereas when I left, you just know everybody. It’s things like that that I need to get back into.”

There’s no doubt that Deacon will be quickly learning the form lines and team sheets in this new season with Wigan having made a dominant start to the year, winning all four Super League matches and cruising to the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.