Michael Maguire is one step closer to taking over as Brisbane's NRL coach after the NSW Rugby League board met to discuss releasing him from his contract.
Maguire remains the clear front-runner to take over from Kevin Walters, after the club legend's brutal exit from the Broncos last week.
Still contracted to be NSW's State of Origin coach for another season, Maguire told NSWRL chairman Paul Conlon on Saturday he was interested in the Brisbane job.
That came less than a day after Maguire had spoken at a Carbine Club luncheon on Friday, detailing his plans for the 2025 Origin series with the Blues.
The chances of Maguire being part of that campaign now appears incredibly slim.
NSWRL directors met again early on Monday morning to discuss Maguire's situation, and AAP has been told they began planning for his possible release.
Complicating the matter somewhat is that NSWRL CEO David Trodden has just begun a pre-scheduled end-of-season holiday in Europe.
The NSWRL were unable to comment publicly on the matter on Monday, with Maguire still officially contracted and the process ongoing.
Maguire had immediate success as NSW coach this year, helping the Blues overturn their heaviest ever home loss to win the series 2-1 in Brisbane.
His style appeared perfectly suited to the Origin arena, while his Blue Mountains camps were a hit with players.
The 50-year-old is seen as the ideal man to pull the Broncos back into line, with questions over the attitude of several players after last year's grand-final loss.
But he will face challenges in Brisbane, particularly given he is an outsider and replacing one of the old boys' favourites in Walters.
That situation was made clear last week, when Broncos legend Shane Webcke publicly shot down the suggestion that Maguire could take over the club.
"He coaches NSW. Spare me that," Webcke said on SEN.
"I’ve got nothing against him, but did we get rid of Kevvie Walters for that?"
Maguire's likely departure from the NSW job will put the Blues back at square one, after only picking him to succeed Brad Fittler as coach last summer.
Paul McGregor looms as a potential option, while Danny Buderus and John Cartwright are others involved in the Blues set-up in recent years.
Andrew Johns is another former assistant, while Fittler's predecessor Laurie Daley has previously ruled out any chance of returning to the top job.
The situation could also potentially leave the NSWRL with two calls to make on Origin coaches for next year.
Women's coach Kylie Hilder could have her fate decided in coming weeks, after NSW slumped to their third series loss in four years under her watch.
She is expected to front the NSWRL board at their next scheduled meeting on October 18.
