Nathan Brown concedes he made a difficult decision easy for Newcastle when he fell on his sword and quit as Knights coach from the end of this NRL season.
Still in contention to make this year’s finals, Brown insisted his decision was about the long-term stability of a Knights side he sees as premiership ready.
He also revealed he’d been considering quitting since midway through the year, after coming to the realisation he was not the coach to take the club forward – despite having turned them around from the mess he walked into on his arrival in late 2015.
“I made a hard decision very easy for the boss. I knew the time was right, he knew the time was right,” Brown said.
“This is about stability for the Knights and the people of Newcastle. They deserve a footy team that is going to play in grand finals.
“The club needs someone the boss is very comfortable for me to move forward with.
“We don’t need someone leaning over my shoulder early next year because we have lost two or three games.”
Brown’s job security has been an off-again, on-again story of 2019, given the club have had two long losing streaks punctuated by a mid-season run of six straight wins.
His future would likely been again the subject of an annual review at the end of this season, with his self-made supercharged roster fighting for a finals spot.
However, his decision to hand his resignation to Knights CEO Philip Gardner took that out of the club’s hands, and allowed them to install a new coach before the pre-season.
Regardless though, Brown insisted he had not received a tap on the shoulder.
“It’s not about being sacked or being pushed and jumped before you pushed. It’s about what is right,” he said.
“When I first came to the club, I said to my wife we will run last for the first two years and the reality of it is the fairytale won’t be me.
“That’s just the nature of the job.”
Gardner claimed he had not spoken to any options prior to Brown’s resignation on Monday, but moves have now been made.
Craig Fitzgibbon on Wednesday reportedly joined Kevin Walters in declaring he wouldn’t move up to Newcastle, happy in his role as an assistant at the Sydney Roosters.
Fellow Roosters assistant Adam O’Brien leads a host of other options, including Anthony Griffin and Shane Flanagan.
Regardless, the decision could be one of the most crucial in Newcastle’s history, with Brown declaring the club’s first title since 2001 is closer than most people think.
“This whole thing around coaching is there’s a time. The club gets to a certain stage and we’re on this evolution,” Gardner said.
“Nathan will always be revered for what he has done for us.
“In any organisation your voice becomes very consistent so sometimes you need a new voice. We obviously want to win a comp for the town.
“We need new voices in the club to get us there. Sometimes it can be that simple.”