Tonga and St Helens coach Kristian Woolf must be considered a major chance to get the Cowboys job due to his tight relationship with $10 million superstar Jason Taumalolo.
That's the verdict from Queensland legend Darren Lockyer, as the Cowboys launch their search for Paul Green's replacement after axing the 2015 premiership-winning coach.
Woolf is among a stacked field of contenders, including Queensland Origin coach Kevin Walters, former Broncos and Panthers coach Anthony Griffin, ex-Cowboys assistant and current Warriors caretaker Todd Payten, Storm assistant Jason Ryles and North Queensland's interim coach Josh Hannay.
Woolf is well-known to North Queensland, having previously been in charge of their feeder team Townsville Blackhawks. And his ties to Taumalolo - the current Cowboys captain and Dally M Medal-winning forward - through the Tonga Test team may prove decisive, Lockyer told Wide World of Sports.
"If you look at the Cowboys, and it's a little bit similar to what happened at the Broncos, [Johnathan] Thurston left, [Matt] Scott left and then Michael Morgan hasn't been there [due to injury]," Lockyer said on QLDER.
"So a bit of a leadership void. I think bringing in someone that's got a relationship with those senior players or that leadership group - and I know that he was at the Broncos for a little while, underneath Anthony Griffin - he's got a good rapport up in North Queensland.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he's the man."
Taumalolo said of Woolf last year: 'What he's done for our country and to help build the roster we have now and have the backing and belief of the players that have been turning out for the red and white the last few years has been truly amazing."
Woolf, 45, only took over the job at St Helens, one of the Super League's biggest clubs, this season. His team was 3-3 and sixth on the ladder before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the competition.
Ongoing doubt over the Super League's immediate future may tempt Woolf to consider a crack at the Cowboys job. He was an interim head coach at Newcastle briefly, late last season.
He has coached Tonga since 2014 and has overseen Taumalolo with the Test side in two stints; from the start of his international career and then after he defected back from New Zealand in 2017 for that year's Rugby League World Cup.
Griffin, 53, was named as an early favourite, with his name immediately linked to the North Queensland role upon Green's departure. He coached the Broncos from 2011-14 and Penrith from 2016-18; and in an added twist, assisted Woolf with Tonga last year as they earned huge upset wins over Australia and Great Britain.
"I think he's ready. He's coached the Broncos, he's coached at Penrith, he had good success at [second-tier Queensland club] Redcliffe," Lockyer said.
"There's no doubt he's ready, it's just whether the Cowboys think that he's the right fit for that club at that time."
Payten is a well-regarded coach who has long held ambitions for a head role in the NRL. He is getting a baptism of fire after taking over the Warriors from sacked coach Stephen Kearney, amid the club's coronavirus-enforced stay in Australia.
"He's certainly had a little bit of a tough introduction," rugby league Immortal Wally Lewis said on QLDER.
Ryles is another highly-rated assistant whose name is starting to be linked to head coaching opportunities. He joined Melbourne at the end of 2015 and was part of the club's 2017 premiership.
"Rylesy was a tough footballer. I was surprised when he retired that he went into coaching but he's the defensive coach at the Melbourne Storm," Lockyer said.
"I think if you've been under Craig Bellamy for that long and you've had results like he has from a defensive perspective ... he's probably ready to move out of that role and go into a head coaching role some time soon."
Walters is the big-name option who has yet to crack a head coaching role in the NRL. He has applied for the Cowboys job, having infamously been snubbed by Brisbane - where he won five premierships as a player, on top of another in Canberra - in his last attempt.
Walters has won two State of Origin series from four during his Queensland coaching reign, losing the past two to NSW. He last month signed a one-year contract extension with the Maroons, through to the end of next year.
"Kevvie's won six premierships as a player, he's current State of Origin coach, he would have learned a hell of a lot about himself as a head coach coaching the Queensland team," Lockyer said.
"He's expressed his desire to coach at NRL level at some point so again, it'll be if the club think that he's the right coach at this particular time."
Lewis added: "He's coached at the highest level, obviously, in Origin; the drama that he's adjusted to in that and he's done it quite comfortably. It has been a success for him."
Roosters assistant Craig Fitzgibbon is another top-notch young coach, while Cowboys assistant Hannay has declared that he intends to prove his worth in the caretaker role and hang on to the job permanently past this season.
Whoever takes over the Cowboys has a big job on their hands. Since making the 2017 grand final, they have finished 13th and 14th and currently sit 12th, with a poor 3-7 record. Green's final game was a 22-10 loss to Penrith on Sunday.
Lockyer was circumspect on Green's future, given his position as a Broncos director and the ongoing furore over Anthony Seibold's coaching job. Green has been touted as an obvious replacement if Seibold is sacked.
Lewis said: "Many will suggest that he could be aiming for the Broncos at some stage, whenever that comes along.
"Of course, he's been pretty good friends with [touted new Brisbane CEO] Ben Ikin as well, spent plenty of time in conversation with him. It's just a matter when he feels he's right to return and whether the club that he's going to have the players on board."
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