Smith has put in a great structure at the club...but as has been proven, he can't seem to take that next step. 9 years at one club for one grand final appearance and 0 wins is unheard of.
In his time however we have gone from always missing the finals to being a regular finals contender, with great juniors and a very professional culture.
So theres no doubt Brian is contributing to us being a successful club, but it seems as though he won't be head coach in 2007.
So the question is what do you go for?
Do you promote one of the assistants like Sharpy or the untried Jason Taylor- who already know Smiths structure and might be able to have more luck in the big end of season games?
Do you go for an untried coach from outside the club like a Dean Pay?
Do you bring in a proven coach like a Daniel Anderson who will also have some idea of Smiths structure.
Do you give an assistant like Royce Simmons a go?
It's a pretty tough one to answer.
Also do you offer Brian a role like a coaches co-ordinator role? I have no doubt if he was to move to another club he'd be a very successful coach and is proven in building clubs from the ground up.
Personally I have no idea what we should do. My initial thoughts would be to give a guy like Dean Pay a crack. IMHO he'd be a great success if he wanted the job. I reckon it's no coincidence the Roosters have taken a slide since he left.
My next thought would be to give Sharpy a crack...he seems switched on and ha learnt alot through past jobs...but on the downside he stunk it up at the Nothern Eagles.
Following that I guess JT should progress into the role.
I reckon we should part ways with Brian Smith at the end of his contract. After 10 years as head coach it'd be hard/impossible to segregate your duties as a coaching director.
Tough decisions need to be made though and i'm glad I aint the one making them.
