Manly CEO confirms next steps as community rallies behind Foran

Manly CEO Jason King has revealed attention will now shift to ways to help Kieran Foran, and the set-up of his coaching staff, following the confirmation of Foran as head coach.

Foran has been locked in as Manly Sea Eagles head coach for the next three seasons after ‘Fozball’ took the NRL by storm.

Foran took over from Anthony Seibold as head coach three weeks into the 2026 season, with the Sea Eagles winning seven of their first nine under Foran.

Now with the Foran-era confirmed, Manly will turn to building the staff around the rookie coach, who only joined Manly as an assistant himself at the start of the season.

Jim Dymock, Brett Kimmorley, and Jon Clarke are currently members of Manly’s coaching staff, with King praising their staff as “superb” after the unconventional start to the season.

“That's probably a conversation that can start now,” King confirmed to SEN 1170 Drive.

“The first piece of the puzzle was getting Kieran all confirmed and getting locked down, and I think the conversation between Kieran and I going forward is ‘what type of support do you need around you to help you be successful?’

“Let's have some real deep conversations about that to set you up for success, and Kieran backs himself. He's got a lot of confidence, and he's doing a terrific job. But he fully appreciates that he's early in his journey.

“So I think that's probably my role as a CEO, to constantly be asking him those questions about, what else can the club be doing to help you?

“Whether that's the way the program's operating, whether that's staff, whether that's anything else.

“But I will say, and Kieran said this publicly already, that the response from his assistant coaches now, and the broader football department's been superb.

“It's a difficult time when you transition out between head coaches through the year and that broader group of coaches and football staff have been really professional in how they've handled it.

“All conversations (are) to sort of take place from now but we want to make sure Kieran is really well supported to give him the best shot of being a real success for our club.”

Foran has broken the mold for NRL head coaches, having been parachuted into the top job four months after retiring from the NRL.

The former New Zealand half wrapped up his playing career in November, appearing for the Kiwis in the Pacific Championships, joining Manly’s coaching staff at the start of 2026.

Now, the success of Foran’s short tenure has questions being asked around the typical steps aspiring coaches must undertake to be considered for a head coach role.

But despite his new head coach’s success, King wasn’t convinced Foran is proof of a new way of hiring.

“I think it's going to be very dependent on each individual circumstance,” King said.

“Somebody like Foz (Foran), his background is quite unique. He's had a really successful playing career, he's been in a number of clubs, and on a number of different coaches.

“He's experienced a lot as a player, and then we understand Foz quite a bit, having known him for a long time and (his) deep connection with our club.

“When you combine those, you think that age is probably not a big issue in this circumstance, certainly for us, and we even see it as a strength.

“But you think about it more broadly, whether it'll apply… you only have to look at world sport, and you see some of the coaches over there (in the NFL)... some of those guys were appointed in their early 30s, and I think the recent Super Bowl coach was 36 odd (years old).

“So, potentially this is something we're seeing.

“You sort of experienced the modern game, and perhaps you're a little bit more contemporary. We think Foz has the full package. Everything he brings is right for our club at the moment.”

Fozball hysteria has swept the Northern Beaches since Foran’s began as interim head coach.

The deep respect Foran holds in the community, plus the renewed success of the Sea Eagles, has locals obsessed over their new coach, so much so, 4 Pines Park is being renamed ‘Foz Pines Park’ for one night only, and the local KFC has replaced Colonel Sanders with Foran on their storefront.

“It's so terrific to have the community behind us,” King remarked.

“I was speaking with Kieran a little while ago. He's a very humble person, and very modest. So when there was a lot of attention coming his way, it made him feel a little bit uneasy.

“But we're certainly embracing it now.”

The Sea Eagles play the Rabbitohs to kick off Round 14, and are looking to move back into the NRL top four.