Cowboys will not stand in the way of assistant coach Todd Payten if he is offered Wests Tigers job

THE Cowboys will not stand in the way of assistant coach Todd Payten if he is offered the job of head coach at Wests Tigers.

THE Cowboys will not stand in the way of assistant coach Todd Payten if he is offered the job of head coach at Wests Tigers.

Payten, a former Wests player, has emerged as a leading contender to replace Jason Taylor, who was sacked as Tigers coach.

While Ivan Cleary, Des Hasler and interim coach Andrew Webster are also frontrunners for the job, it is understood Payten is a popular choice among the playing group.

The former forward coached the Tigers under-20s for two seasons before becoming the club’s assistant coach in 2014. He moved to Townsville the following year and has enjoyed success on the Cowboys’ coaching staff, including the 2015 premiership.

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Payten is reportedly on the Tigers’ shortlist.

Cowboys football operations chief Peter Parr told The Courier-Mail that they would not obstruct Payten’s career.

“If (Payten) got offered the Tigers job or any other head coaching role and he wanted to accept that, we wouldn’t want to stand in his way,’’ Parr said.

“It’s no surprise to us that he’s been linked to this job. It would make sense that they’re looking at him. He’s coached there before and he’s a very good coach.’’

Cowboys coach Paul Green said he understood Payten was happy in Townsville but ultimately wanted to be a head coach.

“Todd’s indicated right from the start that one day he’d like to be a head coach,” Green said.

“He’s played there so there probably is some interest. At this stage, he’s said he’s pretty happy being where he is. That may change down the track.’’

Green said his advice for the 38-year-old would be to make sure that wherever he was heading was set up for success.

“When you get chance, you’ve got to be ready for it,” he said.

“Wherever you go has to be set up for success. There’s a lot of things that come into it when you’re talking about success as a club. He’s got to make sure it’s right on a number of levels.

“They are tough jobs to get, though, so you have to look at any opportunity that comes up. If that doesn’t arise for him now, I’m sure it will down the track.

“He’s a good coach with a good future.’’