He seemed pretty convinced this NSW side was the goods, especially Pearce. He might be useful as a motovational speaker (something the Blues could have seriously done with in games 2 and 3) but the game has moved on and he's no longer a coach. Mind you neither Daley, Walters or Meninga are coaches either.
Walters is definitely a coach. He's served his apprenticeship and was in the running to be the next long-term Broncos head coach, but opted for the Queensland track instead.
This being said, Meninga was definitely not there for his tactical nous but for his ability to galvanise the team. NSW attempted to copy this with the appointment of Daley but forgot to make sure they were picking the best team for the job and pair him with someone who can manage the game plan. Honestly, they could do worse than a Raudonikis/Bellamy combo.
The tide will eventually turn. NSW has a generation of young players coming through who have seen their team get flogged for over a decade. It's what fuels the fire in the belly of Queenslanders even today. All they need to do is harness that and stop selecting chokers and brain snaps waiting to happen and things will start to improve.
Johns knows the Blues coaching position is a poisoned chalice. He wouldn't put his hand up for the job in a fit.
I wouldn't be too sure of that. He was obviously hurting after their losses and pulled no punches in his evaluation. Part of the problem NSW have at the moment is with their selectors being too partisan towards their clubs and listening too much to the media. If someone of Johns' stature took the job there is a very real chance they could make clearing out the dead wood in the organisation a condition of doing so, like Wayne Bennet did when he re-structured Queensland Origin back in '01.
Admittedly there would be concerns with him knowing what to do with that power but if he had the right advisors...
