NRL 2020: Todd Payten to be announced as new Cowboys coach
While most of the focus has been on who gets the job at the Broncos, the Cowboys have quietly gone about replacing Paul Green as head coach – and PHIL ROTHFIELD has the inside word on who has scored the $1.5m contract.
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Todd Payten is just days away from being appointed head coach of the North Queensland Cowboys on a three-year contract.
News Corp understands the deal will be confirmed by Wednesday for the 41-year-old who has done such an impressive job since taking over at the New Zealand Warriors from Stephen Kearney.
A magnificent 36-6 victory over the Knights on Saturday afternoon, their fourth win in five games, convinced Cowboys bosses he is the man for the job in Townsville.
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It caps a huge weekend for Payten, who was reunited with his young family on the Central Coast yesterday after a four-month separation.
He has three children, 11, 9 and 7 who stayed behind in New Zealand when the Warriors moved to Australia in May.
“They got out of quarantine this morning at 10am,” Payten said.
“It’s been a great day. We hadn’t seen each other for 120 days on the dot.”
Payten’s contract with the Cowboys will be worth around the $1.5 million mark for three years with bonuses for playing in the finals.
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He has beaten John Cartwright, Josh Hannay and English coach Shaun Wane for the job.
Payten last month knocked back the offer of the full-time coaching role with the Warriors to chase the opportunity at the Cowboys following the sacking of Paul Green.
He declined to comment on the job.
“Let’s just wait to see what happens,” he said.
He was an assistant coach at the Cowboys under Green in the club’s 2015 premiership victory.
Since taking over from Kearney, Payten has a 50 per cent record with five wins from 10 starts.
He said he has not been interviewed for the St George-Illawarra job.
Originally published as NRL 2020: Todd Payten to be announced as new Cowboys coach