Salford Red Devils have officially confirmed the departure of head coach Iestyn Harris over two months after his last game in charge of the club. The Guardian revealed in July that Harris had left the club and was in discussions with the Super League strugglers over a severance deal to end his tenure as coach, despite Salford initially saying he was on sick leave and not set to depart.
But the Red Devils have now confirmed that Harris has left after a mutual agreement was reached. The former Wales international had been in charge since succeeding Brian Noble in April 2014.
In a brief statement, the Salford chief executive, Martin Vickers, said: “We are pleased to have been able to come to an amicable arrangement with Iestyn Harris so both parties can now move forward. We wish Iestyn all the best in his future career within the game and thank him for his efforts.”
Harris had not taken charge of a game since 30 June, with his assistant, the former Salford player Ian Watson, taking interim charge of the team since that date. At the time, Salford would only confirm that Watson would be at the helm for the game against Catalans Dragons on 5 July, saying: “Iestyn is off sick and was unable to take control of training. Ian Watson took training on Thursday and he will be in charge for Sunday’s game against Catalans Dragons.”
They subsequently finished inside the bottom four of Super League and are now competing in The Qualifiers, where the top four sides after seven games will gain promotion into Super League for 2016. After three rounds of that competition, Salford are currently fifth following a heavy defeat to Championship side Bradford two weeks ago.
Watson has been supported by the Australia coach Tim Sheens, who is working with the club as director of rugby, a role he assumed shortly after Harris’s departure. Salford will continue with this structure until the end of the season, before conducting a review into the setup of the coaching structure for 2016 and beyond.
Salford’s owner, Marwan Koukash, said prior to Harris’s departure that despite the impending arrival of Sheens in July, his job was not under threat. “Iestyn Harris is still the head coach,” he said in June. “He has worked with Tim Sheens before and Tim’s appointment has no bearing on Iestyn’s position in charge.”
But after news of Harris’s departure was confirmed, Koukash told the Manchester Evening News: “Even though things probably did not work out for Iestyn as we hoped they would, I still have a lot of respect for him. I am also grateful for what he has done and wish him all the best.”
