Despite having another two years left on his contract in Newcastle, speculation over Furner's future has been rife for weeks with the former Canberra Raiders head coach in the mix to coach the Dragons before missing out to Anthony Griffin.

He is now expected to accept an assistant coaching role at the Bulldogs under Trent Barrett after requesting a release from the Knights to return to Sydney for family reasons.

Furner broke the news of his departure and the reasons why to the Knights playing group on Tuesday.

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The Knights have already spoken to interim Dragons coach Dean Young on Monday about the job but coach Adam O'Brien indicated he is in no hurry to make a decision on Furner's replacement.

"Furnsy's only told the players today - we'll draw up a list and go from there. There are certainly a few options out there but there's a few clubs looking for assistants as well," he said on Tuesday.

It's understood North Queensland heads the race to sign Young, who appears certain to depart the Dragons after also missing out on the top job there to Griffin.

The likes of Anthony Seibold, Shane Flanagan, John Cartwright and Josh Hannay are among those who names have also been floated around as potential candidates but there are a number of others looking for jobs.

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