Bulls’ CEO Jason Hirst believes their next head coach will go down in folklore as the man who led Bradford back to Super League.
Hirst thought that would have been Eamon O’Carroll, but his shock exit from Odsal last week, with the 37-year-old widely expected to become St Helens’ assistant coach, despite having already performed that role in the past at Catalans, means that is no longer the case.
Discussing past, present and future, Hirst admits to being “surprised” over the role O’Carroll has agreed to take on, contacting the club’s six new signings within 30 seconds of the exit news and confirming coaches from Australia and France have contacted him to express their interest in the vacant position.
Detailing O’Carroll’s shock departure last week, O’Carroll said: “Eamon had a number of offers from Super League clubs over his 12 months here, but until the one last week, he’d turned all of them down.
“But Eamon came to see me last Tuesday, a couple of days after the Toulouse match, to tell me that he wanted to leave to take up the offer of the club he’s now going to, and not see out the remaining three years of his contact.
“I wasn’t surprised he’s had Super League interest, as he’s a quality coach, but I was somewhat surprised that he’s taken the opportunity to join the club he is doing in that capacity.
“I was a bit shocked and disappointed, but not disappointed in Eamon as a man, just disappointed he wasn’t going to see his contract out and the journey we were on together, which was to win the Championship Grand Final and also get up to Super League.
“I respect Eamon’s decision and I understand why he took it, as his reasons are all centred around spending more quality time with his young family.
“He’s found that difficult here, as he did at Catalans, and anyone who wants to do that, it’s hard to be critical of them.
“We had a close working relationship and I’ll miss him, but what’s more important than Eamon O’Carroll is the Bradford Bulls.
“When he told me he was leaving last week, I asked if I or the club could do anything to make him reconsider and he looked me in the eye and told me we couldn’t.
“I then looked him in the eye, shook his hand and wished him the best for the future.
“That all happened in the first two minutes of the conversation and we spoke for half-an-hour afterwards.
“We leave on good terms but someone else will see this job through now.
“Whoever gets it will go down in Bulls folklore, in my opinion, as the man who led Bulls back to Super League.”
Contracts exist for a reason though, and after pushing for a four-year deal for O’Carroll only to see him leave after one season, does Hirst not feel let down by the outgoing head coach?
He reflected: “I don’t feel let down because we’re all human beings, and we’ve all got a certain selfishness, by which I mean we all put ourselves and our family first at times.
“I’d never be critical of anyone for wanting to do that, so while I’m disappointed he couldn’t see the job out, I’m not disappointed in Eamon himself.
“He’s been good for us and I know we’ve been good for him.
“We wish him nothing but the best at his new club.”
Some fans have tried to claim Brian Noble was behind all of Bulls’ recruitment for 2025, but it would be pig-headed to suggest O’Carroll was not heavily involved as well, especially given some new arrivals last winter admitted it was a combination of CEO and head coach that persuaded them to come to Odsal.
Given a host of signings and retentions for next year were expecting to work under O’Carroll, Hirst was asked if a new head coach would cause a problem on that front.
He said: “It’s not ideal but it’s not disastrous.
“On balance, it was Eamon and Brian who swayed me by saying that because we’ve done most of our recruitment for next season up front, it’ll be good for the incoming head coach, as he won’t be having to scramble around signing players.
“He’s got a good bunch already and that will allow him to concentrate on the nuts and bolts of the pre-season schedule.
“There’s a certain element, with some of the players more than others, that Eamon was a big driving force in them signing for the Bulls.
“But there are lots of other driving forces, not least having Brian in the building, whose record in rugby league speaks for itself.
“There’s also the fact we’re a big, historic name in the sport, as well as our strong on-field performances over the last two years.
“People joining the club have all said they can see the team and club are going places and we’re getting stronger and stronger on and off the field.
“It’s not ideal Eamon leaving, but it’s all about what we do next now.
“I believe we recruited the right man at the right time for the right club 12 months ago, but I’m 100 per cent confident we’ll do the same thing in the coming weeks.
“Whoever takes charge has a great base to work from.
“We’ve got a really strong squad and we’ve got the money to spend to bring in more players, which we will be doing.”
O’Carroll’s departure was announced last Thursday, just minutes after he had informed his first-team players of the news in person.
But as Hirst explained, new signings like Joe Keyes, James Donaldson and Emmanuel Waine were kept in the loop too.
He said: “Within 30 seconds of Eamon telling the existing players he was leaving, I’d texted all six of our new players to inform them and said they could chat to me if they wanted.
“I’ve spoken to all of them since and they’re all comfortable with where we’re at and they’re still eager to come to the Bradford Bulls and work under the new coach.
“Players are resilient, and I think there’s an element of ‘The King is Dead, Long Live the King’.
“Some players form closer bonds with coaches than others, like your captain, but as long as those lads are playing, training and getting paid, they’re happy by and large.”
Despite some gentle prodding, Hirst was never going to reveal any names to the T&A, in terms who they have in mind as their new head coach, to protect the privacy of those in the running.
But he did give an insight into the process, in terms of whether there is a fixed shortlist in mind or if the situation is fluid, given, for example, the shock sacking of Craig Lingard by Castleford earlier this week.
Hirst said: “I think it’s fluid because rugby league is a small sport, so you get to hear what’s happening at other clubs, which gives you an understanding of who might or might not be in the frame.
“The important thing for us is we don’t have to sell this job too much, if at all, now.
“I look back two years ago when we put an advert out for the vacant head coach position and got significant interest, then did the same thing before Eamon was appointed and there was even more interest.
“This time around, we’ve not put an advert out and we might not do that at all, as there’s even more interest.
“A lot of quality coaches have put their name forward, and once I’d left that meeting where Eamon told the players he was departing and we’d announced his exit publicly, within half-an-hour of me getting home, I had people from overseas ringing me about the Bulls coaching job.
“It’s not from all over the world, but coaches from Australia and France have reached out to me registering their interest in this job.
“That speaks volumes of where this club has come in the last two years and it shows that the Bradford Bulls name is still a draw to people.
“But equally, us finishing third twice in a row and the squad we’re putting together for 2025 makes this role an attractive one.
“With those coaches who are interested, some of them are out of work, but many of them are currently in an existing role.”
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