Reports are doing the rounds that the New Zealand Warriors will name Nathan Brown as their next coach. It has me wondering….why?
Have we seen anything from Nathan Brown over the course of his NRL coaching career that suggests that he is someone you want too commit to as your clubs next coach? Especially for the Warriors who are a great coaching situation for everyone not called Todd Payten?
Nathan Brown has 245 games under his belt as an NRL coach. That is a significant sample size.
As coach of the St George/Illawarra Dragons Brown won 53% of his games. That sounds alright, but keep in mind Nathan Brown has a damn good side during those 151 games as the Dragons coach. He was filmed slapping the face of Trent Barrett during that time, and that may very well be the highlight of his time at the Dragons.
After Brown left the Dragons the club would go one to win the NRL Premiership under Wayne Bennett.
Brown would pick up his coaching career in England with the Huddersfield Giants in Super League. He did well at the Giants, well enough to secure a move to St Helens where he went even better and won the Super League title in 2014. It sounds impressive, but some of the worst coaches of all time have had success in England and won multiple Super League titles.
Being a successful coach in Super League means nothing in terms of coaching ability.
On returning to Australia, Brown took over the completely ruined Newcastle Knights. In 94 games Brown only had a 25% winning record. A lot of people credit him to helping rebuild the club. From where they were it wouldn’t take too much to make that happen. You have to also take into account the drama he had with Wayne Bennett at one point and then the way Brown left the Knights, walking out of them at the end.
Also keep in mind that under the clubs next coach, Adam O’Brien, the Knights immediately looked like a far better team.
I just don’t understand why the New Zealand Warriors would look at any of this and decide that Nathan Brown is their man. Maybe there is something I’m not seeing, but as an NRL coach the winning just isn’t there, and there’s been a bit of weird drama.
That to me feels like the last thing the Warriors need.
All stats via Rugby League Project
