St Helens made the decision not to renew Paul Wellens’ deal meaning the club are now on the hunt for a new head coach and we’ve compiled a list of the top candidates.
It feels like the writing has been on the wall for Paul Wellens all season with fan outrage, much of which went far beyond any reasonable level, peaking at Magic Weekend following the loss to Leeds Rhinos.
It’s worth noting that was Saints’ only defeat to the Rhinos in 2025 as they won the other three exchanges, including in the play-offs but that wasn’t enough to save Wellens’ job.
He leaves after three years in charge with one World Club Challenge to his name, his first game in charge, and two Super League semi-final appearances.
It’s not the level of success that St Helens are used to and that’s seemingly why the club have made the decision to in a different direction, but what is that direction?
We’ve looked at five candidates for the vacant St Helens coaching position, assessing each man’s chances.
Who could replace Paul Wellens at St Helens?
Paul Rowley
The standout candidate is Paul Rowley and if he is open to taking on the role then St Helens should move mountains to get him signed up to head up their team, he is that good.
It’s unclear what Rowley’s future is at Salford Red Devils, or frankly what the future of the club is, but he had been appointed as their director of rugby for 2026 with Kurt Haggerty set to take on the coaching role. Haggerty has since left to become Bradford Bulls head coach and with Salford’s future undecided, it seems Rowley’s is as well.
The club’s attack has been a major criticism under Paul Wellens but one thing that Paul Rowley sides are never accused of is being boring or dull in attack. He eeks the best out of every player and coaches an attractive style of rugby. Quite simply, he’s the perfect candidate.
Ben Gardiner
Amid all the uncertainty of the 2025 season, rumours swirled down under that Samoa head coach Ben Gardiner was actually being lined up as Paul Wellens’ replacement at Saints.
The Penrith assistant was named as the “number one target” by Penrith-based journalist Peter Vlang, however, St Helens won their next game 40-0 against Catalans resulting in Steve McNamara losing his job and Paul Wellens seemingly saving his.
Talks went quiet beyond that point but it would make sense for St Helens to look that way as they’ve had success with NRL coaches in the past and Gardiner is a young and exciting coach.
Lee Briers
Brought into Saints to be the saviour of their attack, Briers’ appointment hasn’t quite worked out but an inconsistent spine has not helped. Whether that is the fault of Wellens for changing it up or those in charge of recruitment in regards Tristan Sailor’s struggles at playing six is another question.
Either way, Briers is very highly thought of from his time in both England and Australia and whilst promotion to head coach is viable, the club might want to go down a more established coaching route.
Kyle Eastmond
Another former St Helens player who doesn’t have tons of experience as a head coach but is making big waves is Kyle Eastmond at Halifax Panthers. Similar to the argument against Briers, the club may want someone with more experience but there’s no doubt that Eastmond is an exciting prospect.
He had Halifax flying at the start of the year and despite financial troubles throughout the year, he guided the Panthers to a play-off spot and oversaw an away win against fourth-placed Oldham.
Eastmond has also coaching plenty of St Helens’ players as Fax had a dual registration deal with the Super League side and that saw George Whitby excel at the end of the season, a player who could be key to a new Saints rebuild.
Steve McNamara
Whilst both Briers and Eastmond might be inexperienced, Steve McNamara certainly is not. In fact, he’s probably the most experienced candidate that is available and after losing his job after defeat to St Helens, there’s a chance he could be the Red Vee’s next coach.
The success he had with Catalans might not have translated to tons of trophies but he created a club identity and more importantly ended the reputation of Les Dracs being an inconsistent side. His work with youth development was also impressive and with Saints having such a talented academy, that’s a big tick in his favour.
He’s spoken in recent months about wanting to take on a project that excites him and he’s not ruled out a move to rugby union but there are few more exciting projects in rugby league that St Helens, especially given the plethora of young talent in the squad.
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