Unwanted North Queensland coach Neil Henry head-hunted by Parramatta Eels
Peter Badel
The Courier-Mail
September 17, 2013 12:00AM
STRIFE-TORN Parramatta have placed Neil Henry on their hit-list with Eels chairman Steve Sharp keen to gauge his interest in the NRL's toughest coaching job.
Parramatta board members met on Monday to discuss a number of key agenda items, including the vacant CEO’s role and a proposed shortlist of candidates to succeed new Canberra coach Ricky Stuart.
The Courier-Mail has learned one club delegate is keen for Brian Smith to return in a coaching director’s role, offering mentoring to a rookie coach such as Andrew Dunemann.
But Henry is a priority target, with Sharp revealing his plan to contact the 52-year-old, whose five-year tenure at the Cowboys ended in finals heartbreak against Cronulla last Saturday night.
Henry is regarded as one of the code's finest tacticians and Sharp, the former Parramatta back-rower, believes the former Queensland assistant has the skill-set to rebuild the Eels.
"I will chat to Neil," Sharp said.
"There’s some very good coaches out there, but I think Neil has done a good job in North Queensland and I think he would enjoy the challenge here at Parramatta.
"We’d be silly not to talk to him. He got the Cowboys to the finals for the last (three) years and he’s been able to assemble a fair playing roster.
"The coach has huge input on keeping players at a club and he’s been able to keep Matt Scott, James Tamou and Johnathan Thurston at the Cowboys when they were off-contract.
"We have to get someone who is going to buy into where we want to go. We have a strategic direction of where the club wants to go and I understand the club’s culture. I need to foster a winning culture.
"Neil can certainly do that. I haven’t spoken to him as yet, but I want to get a feel for how certain coaches view the game and their plan for Parramatta."
The Eels could announce Stuart’s successor within the next fortnight. There is a push for Smith to have some involvement given he transformed the Eels from also-rans to finals regulars during his decade-long reign from 1997-2006.
But with Cowboys football manager Peter Parr in contention for the CEO post and having strong ties with Henry, the duo could be a stabilising off-field alliance for the club.
Sharp made it clear Parramatta’s coach in 2014 would not be afforded the luxury of a get-out clause, expressing his fury at the structuring of Stuart’s Eels contract.
"The criticism of Ricky has been unfair but in saying that, on my chairmanship, there will never be another contract signed with a player, coach or official where they have a get-out clause," he said.
"There has to be extenuating circumstances for any employee to be released.
"The people that allowed such a contract to be put in place disrespected the club. I don't blame Ricky, his management got the best possible deal, but from our side of things they did a disservice to our club for allowing a contract like that.
"If people want to come to the club for an opportunity, I will give them that, but they have to give the club the same respect back."
Cowboys high-performance chief and former Maroons centre Paul Bowman hopes Henry receives an NRL lifeline.
"I think Neil has proven, not just over the last six weeks, that we have been a consistent side over the last three years," he said.
"I have no doubt he will get another shot somewhere."
