NATHAN Brown changed his tune on a regular basis during his tenure as Newcastle Knights coach, so news that he is about to be hired by the New Zealand Warriors should perhaps come as no complete surprise.
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Only a few weeks ago, Brown was asked during a commentary stint on Triple M radio whether he would be interested in the vacant position in Auckland, given that he had already spent the pre-season working with the Warriors in a consultancy role. Brown replied that it "wasn't the right job" for him at this point in his life, although he declined to elaborate.
Fair enough, I thought. With kids in school and having just finished building a new house in the Sutherland Shire, perhaps he's had enough of a nomadic existence and wants to settle in Sydney.
It was a different story a week or so later when he was asked about the position at North Queensland and effectively confirmed he would be interested in that particular gig.
He added that, in his view, the only unemployed coaches who wouldn't be applying for the Cowboys role were those who realised they were no chance anyway.
So much for my theory that he didn't want to leave Sydney. I assumed Brown believed there was more upside to coaching the Cowboys than the Warriors.
Now it appears Brown will be joining the Warriors on a three-season deal and the man currently occupying the hot seat at that club, Todd Payten, is paying about $1.05 to sign with the Cowboys, having knocked back a full-time position with the NZ franchise.
Confusing it might be, but it is also a reminder that Browny has been around the traps a long time and knows how to handle himself in the dog-eat-dog environment of NRL coaching.
Having quite possibly heard behind the scenes that the Warriors were going to offer the job to Payten, Brown's public position was that he wasn't a contender.
As soon as he learned it had become available, his hat was in the ring.
Whatever his thought process, it will be intriguing to see if Brown is the man who can transform the Warriors from perennial underachievers into a premiership force.
He insisted last year in announcing he was leaving the Knights that "I'll get another job", because there would be other clubs that needed rebuilding.
That particular press conference, during which Knights CEO Phil Gardner lauded Brown as a "genuinely wonderful human being" who would be "revered" in years to come by the club's supporters, highlighted the latter's ability as a media-savvy PR master.
I reckon Browny could sell snow to the eskimos. The big question is whether he can coach.
Brown has certainly experienced a broad spectrum of scenarios since he became the NRL's youngest head tactician at St George Illawarra in 2003, before his 30th birthday.
During six seasons at the Dragons, they made the play-offs four times, but their fans were largely unimpressed. In 2005, in particular, Brown's troops were widely tipped to win the premiership but did not even reach the grand final.
He then spent a further six seasons in England, at Huddersfield and St Helens, eventually winning a Super League grand final with the latter - albeit after Wigan played 78 minutes with 12 men after having prop Ben Flower sent off.
Joining the Knights after their 2015 campaign, he took charge of the incumbent wooden spooners, who remained in the cellar for the next two years, winning only one game in his first season at the helm and racking up a club-record 19-game losing streak.
It was widely accepted at the time that Brown was cleaning up a mess he had inherited.
He has received plenty of kudos for re-shaping Newcastle's roster by signing quality players like Mitchell Pearce, Kalyn Ponga, David Klemmer, Tim Glasby, Aidan Guerra, Herman Ese'ese, Edrick Lee, Kurt Mann and Hymel Hunt.
Yet there might have been as much good luck as good management in the Knights' recruitment.
Among the players Newcastle unsuccessfully pursued were Kieran Foran, Jack Bird, Ben Matulino, Adam Blair, James Graham and Greg Bird.
There were also the lesser lights who moved on because they received little opportunity, like Nick Meaney (Canterbury), Brent Naden (Penrith) and Tom Starling (Canberra).
The bottom line for Brown, unfortunately, is that he was given more latitude than 99 per cent of coaches before he was held accountable for results. And in his fourth season, when most agreed he had a squad capable of reaching the finals, he was unable to deliver.
A similar challenge awaits him at the Warriors, who, as Newcastle were five years ago, appear in dire need of a major overhaul.
For whatever reason, the NRL's Auckland franchise has never realised its potential.
In 25 seasons, they have reached the play-offs only eight times, finishing as runners-up in their two grand final appearances.
Most rugby league fans would welcome a successful, thriving Warriors outfit. Properly harnessed, there would appear no reason why they can't be a juggernaut.
Maybe a marriage of convenience with Nathan Brown will prove a match made in heaven.