Sacked Cowboys coach Paul Green has applied to replace Anthony Seibold at the Brisbane Broncos
He won an NRL premiership at the North Queensland Cowboys and now Paul Green believes he can break the Broncos’ 14-year title drought. Should he get the nod?
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Sacked Cowboys coach Paul Green will formally apply for the Brisbane job in a move that puts him on a collision course with club legend Kevin Walters in the battle for the Broncos post.
The development comes as Broncos chairman Karl Morris confirmed Green and Walters will be on Brisbane’s hit list as the club comes under pressure to find the right coach to replace Anthony Seibold next season.
The Courier-Mail can reveal Green will officially submit his resume to Broncos bosses, just five weeks after he severed ties with North Queensland following seven seasons in Townsville.
Green was the man who broke Brisbane’s hearts in the 2015 grand final when he masterminded the Cowboys’ maiden premiership and now he believes he can break the Broncos’ 14-year title drought.
The Broncos will launch their hiring process for Seibold‘s successor from Monday and Green’s management confirmed the Cowboys’ greatest coach covets the most prestigious coaching job in the NRL.
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“The Brisbane Broncos are one of the iconic clubs in the NRL,” Green’s agent George Mimis said.
“This is a club that Paul has a close affinity with and would aspire to coach.”
Green has ties to the Broncos.
The 47-year-old finished his 11-year playing stint in the NRL with five games at the Broncos in 2004 before he spent four years working as a specialist coach to Brisbane‘s playmakers.
He was then promoted to an assistant’s role under Broncos coach Ivan Henjak in 2009 before moving to Wynnum Manly, where he proved his coaching bona fides with back-to-back premierships.
Now Green wants a return to Red Hill. He has been reinvigorated during his time off over the past five weeks and believes he has the coaching skill-set to deliver Brisbane‘s first premiership since 2006.
The battle royale between Green and Walters will be compelling.
Green beat Walters to the Queensland Origin job in 2016, only for the Cowboys to block the move because of his club commitments, and chairman Morris said the pair will be strongly considered for the Broncos job.
“Kevin Walters and Paul Green will certainly be considered,” he said.
“I’m not going to go into a commentary on their merits because that would be unfair to anyone who wishes to apply.
“We want this process to be open and fair but those two guys will be in the mix.”
The battle between Green and Walters shapes as an intriguing one.
Walters won five premierships as a player at the Broncos but Green is a proven NRL coach with a title next to his name.
Former Broncos and Cowboys star Brent Tate said Brisbane hierarchy would have a tough task choosing between Green and Walters.
“I genuinely believe Kevvie and Greeny could both do a good job there,” Tate said.
“Greeny is a strong personality with a strong will. He would suit the club.
“On the flip side, Kevvie could do a good job as well so they have two really good candidates there. They’ve both got different strengths.
“Sometimes it’s not as broken as you think, I definitely think that with the Broncos. It’s not as broken as everyone is saying and thinking.
“There’s been plenty of clubs that have struggled and rebounded quickly.
“They’ve got the cattle there, they just need someone to bring it all together and get them on the same page and playing well.
“I’m sure there are things that will need to be overhauled, but sometimes it doesn’t take much to turn things around.”
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Asked last month if he would consider coaching the Broncos following his Cowboys departure, Green said: “I want to be a head coach so I will weigh up any opportunity that comes my way.
“The truth is I want to coach on, there are things I want to achieve and I will achieve them. My time as head coach at the Cowboys has finished but my time as head coach hasn’t ended.”