Why I never want to coach again
Cronulla won ugly in a lot of games this season, but finished higher than we did because they stuck to the plan and grinded away better, so full credit to
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Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24533494-16143,00.html
Why I never want to coach again
By Michael Hagan, former Parramatta coach
October 22, 2008
YESTERDAY'S announcement that I had resigned as Parramatta coach was not an overly emotional or impulsive decision.
I had been mulling it over seriously since probably July. That's a telling sign in itself. In the end I had to be honest with myself and the club and admit I didn't have the ambition and drive to do the job with the commitment that is required these days.
I wasn't pushed in any way into this decision. I certainly had no run-in with anyone at a fantastic club. And certainly not, as was wrongly reported, with Denis Fitzgerald, who I have enormous respect for and who has been a pleasure to deal with.
I just don't have the desire to be an NRL coach any more. The role has become far more complex, demanding and exhausting, and a lot harder to enjoy.
I've got no desire at this stage to coach again. I've had eight years as head coach and 10 years all up (after two with the Raiders' lower grades) and I feel that's enough.
To be honest, I turned up for a few games this year where I didn't have the adrenalin flowing; and didn't feel excited to be there. That's a telling sign in itself.
And when my health started to deteriorate in July, I thought that was another indicator that maybe it was time to walk away. On top of the inner-ear infection and being run down, I've had a neck and back problem from my playing days that has really become hard to endure.
I felt I needed some time after the season finished to be sure of how I felt. I'd already decided not to coach beyond next season whether invited to or not. But my desire to go on just didn't improve.
Don't get me wrong, I've got no regrets, except for perhaps not winning a Premiership with Parramatta. Our best chance was in 2007 when Melbourne deflected our best shot in the preliminary final.
What wore me down? The travel, for one.
Before agreeing to coach Parramatta and after speaking at length with my wife Sue and three daughters, we decided not to relocate the family from Newcastle. Not being there for Sue and the girls when I should have has certainly affected me, along with the demands of travelling between my Redhead and Parramatta homes. I want to be there for them now.
I don't think a lot of people understand the gruelling responsibilities that extend far past coaching a football team: the media commitments, attending functions from presentation nights, sponsors' dinners, fans' nights, NRL conferences, junior rep and trial matches, salary cap balancing and being a psychologist to players.
Frankly, a whole range of issues, football and non-football, had an effect on me going way back to the well-publicised Jarryd Hayne and Tim Smith alcohol related episodes in the pre-season.
They consumed a fair bit of time and energy that should have been directed at tactical improvement of the team and I have no doubt the team suffered from that.
I don't want this to sound like a back-hander to the current game but I also became a bit bored with the way you have to play, and coach, in the NRL now to be successful. It's all about the wrestle, the ruck, completion rates that we all had to strive for and if benchmarks are not achieved you can't win. I found that boring even though I had to coach that way.
Winning ugly is more acceptable than being gallant in defeat. Cronulla won ugly in a lot of games this season, but finished higher than we did because they stuck to the plan and ground away better, so full credit to them.
Melbourne have been the most successful team of the past three years but they are terribly structured, smother their opposition and take few risks until the game is well in hand, despite some wonderfully gifted players.
Good luck to them too, and other teams who know they have to play like it. It's effective, it's what wins football matches. I'm not sure I wanted to subscribe to that as a coach any longer.
I don't know how, or when, the circuit-breaker might come, although I admire the way Manly won the competition this year with a great balance of structure but also a willingness to chance their arm and play some footy with good speed and footwork. I liked Canberra's attitude as well.
The way the Storm had to curb their "ruck domination' because of the spotlight that was thrown on it in the grand final enabled Manly to play faster and more effectively than any side had just about all season. Maybe that was a benchmark game for the NRL. I hope so.
And there is no doubt many younger players in the game these days are elevated earlier and get big money, profile and adulation handed to them too easily. They have an attitude of wanting and expecting success without always being prepared to display the patience and discipline that should be required.
I think that attitude frustrated some senior players at Parramatta this year (and at other clubs, too, I suspect), not just the coaching staff.
I still love rugby league and I owe it plenty: some great friendships, some great memories, and a great satisfaction of playing some sort of role in helping the careers of some young men.
I'm also satisfied with the state of things at Parramatta which is a professional club, and proved to be right to the end in the way my decision was accepted. I think the in-coming coach has a good side that is ready for improvement.
When I reached 200 games as an NRL coach in round 21, in the same match Brian Smith reached his 500th, I thought there was no way I could contemplate reaching that milestone. A tally of 205 games is a big enough achievement for me.
I've got no job and no immediate career plans. But I need a break and time with my family. Of that, I am absolutely sure.