NRL 2021: Tigers legend unloads on CEO Justin Pascoe and Adam Hartigan

A Balmain legend has declared two men above Michael Maguire should be on the chopping block before the Wests Tigers coach.

Former West Tigers coach Michael Maguire. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty

Balmain legend Garry Jack has let fly at Tigers management declaring they only want to sack coach Michael Maguire “to protect their own backsides.”

The Tigers are still deliberating if they will keep Maguire on as coach. But in the meantime, Jack has come out swinging in support of Maguire.

He declared others at the club should be under pressure.

“Why do they want to sack him? It’s to protect their own backsides,” Jack said on SEN.

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“If anyone’s got to go, it’s got to be (chief executive) Justin Pascoe and (head of football) Adam Hartigan, they’re the ones in charge of recruitment and retention. You can’t blame the coach when last year you’ve re-signed him for another two years.

“They need to take a lot of responsibility for what has happened. If these guys were spending their own money I think they’d be a lot more careful with who comes in and who they sack.”

Jack also let loose on the club’s highly contentious review into Maguire and the football club. Jack said Pascoe’s position should come under more scrutiny.

Wests Tigers' CEO Justin Pascoe (left) Michael Maguire in 2018. Picture: AAP/Brendan Esposito

“He (Pascoe) did the review last year, and the side’s gone backwards,” Jack said. “Everyone’s accountable, the coach is accountable, the players are accountable … but the CEO and recruitment guys aren’t accountable. Well, they have to be accountable because they recruited the players that are playing and obviously, it’s not working.”

Jack’s fury comes a day after Maguire was set to be sacked before he was given a glimmer of hope of retaining his job.

The Tigers delayed a decision on Maguire’s future after the club’s board requested more time to digest an investigation into their woeful season.

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Monday was yet another bizarre day even by the Tigers’ recent standards. Maguire was expected to be sacked with two years remaining on his contract after the club called a board meeting at 4pm on Monday afternoon, the directors having received a series of recommendations including one on the coach’s future.

Garry Jack (ball) has gone into bat for Michael Maguire. Picture: Marty Johnston

The meeting – which was only scheduled on Monday Morning – was cancelled at the 11th hour when the board requested more time to review the findings of the internal inquiry into their football operations.

It is understood some board members started to get cold feet after The Daily Telegraph revealed the meeting was about to take place. The club has also been inundated with fans throwing their support behind the under-fire coach, who is believed to be on holidays in Queensland with his family.

An intense person at the best of times, it is hard to believe the premiership winning coach was relaxing as he awaited a call on his future, having guided the club through another sub-par season.

Michael Maguire faces a nervous wait.

There is no doubt elements of the Tigers’ board want Maguire gone. The delay in the decision though may buy Maguire enough time to keep his job with some board members genuinely torn as they ponder another coaching change.

Even if he somehow remains at the helm, Maguire will be mortally wounded by the public scrutiny of his position and would start next season under intense pressure to produce results.

While Maguire does enjoy some support still, his position may prove to be untenable and result in huge pressure on the club heading into next season. If he is the coach they will ask for a shake-up of his support staff.

Michael Maguire. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty

The club is yet to schedule another board meeting but that could happen as early as Tuesday. Powerbrokers want a decision this week, having made the decision to put recruitment and retention on hold while they pondered the coach’s future.

The club is believed to hold an interest in the likes of Adam Elliott and Tariq Sims, yet negotiations have been delayed while they mull over a change of coach.

Maguire’s future has been placed in the spotlight after a string of poor performances this year. His fate looked to have been sealed over the final weeks of the regular season as the Tigers laboured to the finish line. They were soundly beaten in their final outing at the hands of hapless Bulldogs.

Under his tenure, the Tigers have finished ninth, 11th and 13th. He took over a club with a shoddy roster but the side that took the field in 2021 was definitely his team. He had largely dispensed with the big-name and big-money recruits who he inherited but the results hadn’t got any better. In fact, they had gradually got worse.

The club’s inability to entice a succession of big name players to the club has also been an area of concern.

The job may still be Cameron Ciraldo’s if the Penrith assistant wants it. If not, the Tigers are expected to scour the markets both here and overseas.

Incoming coaching director Tim Sheens remains in England where he has access to a trio of contenders - Steve McNamara, Shaun Wane and Kristian Woolf. Locally, premiership winners Shane Flanagan and Paul Green are contenders.

Parramatta coach Brad Arthur, who is about to enter the final year of his deal at the Eels, could also be interested if he wants to secure his long-term future.

Regardless of the outcome, this week shapes as one of the most significant in the Tigers’ recent history. If Maguire is somehow able to conjure a miracle and survive - and it seems highly unlikely given their sliding results over the past three years - the focus will instead fall on the club’s hierarchy, most notably chief executive Justin Pascoe.

Originally published as NRL 2021: Tigers legend unloads on CEO Justin Pascoe and Adam Hartigan