'Strictly business': Why the coaching merry-go-round can work
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"WHAT PRICE LOYALTY"? asked the headline on the cover of Rugby League Week on July 27, 1994 after a tumultuous month of coaching and player movement.
Phil Gould had just announced he was leaving Penrith to coach the Roosters, taking over from Arthur Beetson, who was acting in a caretaker capacity after the sacking of Mark Murray just weeks earlier.
Warren Ryan had also been sacked by Western Suburbs the previous week.
On the field, Darren Smith was on the outer at Canterbury after signing with the South Queensland Crushers, who had convinced Trevor Gillmeister to seek a release from the Panthers, while Mark Geyer was playing park footy on the Central Coast after being shown the door by Balmain ahead of his move to Perth in 1995.
A sub-heading on the RLW cover, which featured a montage of coaches and players on the move at the time, said: "MODERN FOOTBALL … it's STRICTLY BUSINESS".
Fast forward more than two decades and that statement has never been truer after a week in which five clubs have announced new coaches, the Warriors revealed they were happy for Shaun Johnson to test the market and David Klemmer asked for a release from the Bulldogs.
Despite criticism of the so-called coaching merry-go-round, this is how contracts are supposed to work.
No coach has been sacked and no contracts broken, with Brisbane telling Wayne Bennett they would not be offering him a new deal after his contract expires at the end of next season and Anthony Seibold rejecting South Sydney's offer to extend his tenure beyond 2019.
Both coaches are prepared to serve out the remaining year of their contracts before completing a swap in 2020 and the Broncos and Rabbitohs insist it is business as usual for next season.
Even at Manly - who now effectively have two head coaches after the appointment of Des Hasler - the Sea Eagles and Trent Barrett are abiding by the terms of a contract in which he was required to provide a 12-month notice after tendering his resignation in July.
Negotiations will continue to resolve the situation at Manly, as Penrith and Wests Tigers were able to do before the latter released Ivan Cleary to start his contract with the Panthers two years early and appointed Michael Maguire to replace him next season.
Yet, despite criticism of the so-called coaching merry-go-round, this is how contracts are supposed to work.
Whether the Broncos and Rabbitohs reach a similar agreement remains to be seen but if not history suggests that Bennett and Siebold can continue in their current roles without any major drama next season.
Bennett was at the centre of the NRL's previous biggest coaching upheaval when he declared before the start of the 2008 season that he had would not be at Brisbane the following year, prompting several other clubs to make early calls on their coaches.
Canberra agreed on March 31 to release Neil Henry to North Queensland in 2009, St George Illawarra revealed Bennett's signing on April 1 and Steve Folkes announced on April 7 that the 2008 season would be his last in charge of Canterbury.
Bennett (Brisbane), Henry (Canberra), Folkes (Canterbury) and St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown each saw out the full season in charge of their respective clubs, with the Broncos, Raiders and Dragons all making the finals.
Despite having signed with Penrith for the 2012 season, Cleary was able to take the Warriors to the 2011 grand final, while Shaun Wane steered Wigan to this year's Super League premiership after announcing in June he was leaving for a role with Scotland Rugby Union.
