Shane Flanagan has officially signed a three-year deal with the Manly Sea Eagles to become their assistant coach and will work under Anthony Seibold in 2023.
Flanagan coached the Cronulla Sharks from 2010-18 and won the Sharks’ first and only premiership in 2016 before he was de-registered as a coach following his failure to adhere to a coaching suspension in 2014. Flanagan has been at the St George Illawarra Dragons as an assistant coach and list management consultant since.
The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis confirmed that the 56-year-old premiership winning coach will join the Sea Eagles and will have some favourable clauses in his contract.
“He has agreed to a three-year contract to join Anthony Seibold as an assistant coach at Manly,” Carayannis said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“Flanagan has made it no secret that he wants to coach.
“He is doing that backroom role at the Dragons and they have been really impressed with what he’s done in terms of roster management and cap space management for the long-term.
“He wants to coach and part of the deal at Manly will include a get-out clause for him to chase a head coaching job elsewhere.
“He has made no secret about this that he wants to be a head coach. “This allows him to dip his toe back in.”
Flanagan was outspoken in his desire to return as a coach and aggressively advertised himself as a head coaching candidate when the Bulldogs, Warriors and Tigers all sacked their coaches.
Carayannis is sceptical of how long Flanagan will stay given how adamant he is to return as a head coach and the immense amount of travel.
“It’s a massive call (from Flanagan).
“He lives in the Shire and the commute from the Shire to Brookvale four or five times a week is going to be (tough).
“It’s a long drive and it could take two hours in peak hour sometimes.
“He’s thrown it all in to go back in to coaching.”
Flanagan has coached 185 games in his career with a win percentage of 55%.