A three-horse race with one Kiwi out in front.
Ideally, The British & Irish Lions management team would like a coaching package that includes Warren Gatland as head coach with Joe Schmidt and Vern Cotter on staff.
They may have some unions and egos to placate, and reimburse, for that to work.
Eddie Jones did the Lions a favour by preemptively ruling himself out of the top job. As SportsJOE understands, the Australian was not high up the list of candidates despite his fantastic Grand Slam-winning achievement with England.
Gatland was made some solid assurances, following his 2013 series win over Australia, that the job was his if he ever wanted it again. Gatland wants it but, in Schmidt, a serious alternative has emerged.
The requirement for the job, insist Lions manager John Spencer and his team, is that any head coach will step away from country commitments ahead of the November series of Test matches. Gatland did this in 2012 but he was not far away from his Wales team, their preparations or their dressing room.
Schmidt would not be at all keen on having to miss two tilts against the All Blacks – Chicago and Dublin – and that is a massive stumbling block. The latest reports have Schmidt leaning towards staying on with Ireland until the 2019 World Cup so that would soften the blow somewhat.
Were he to impress in upcoming Lions interviews, he may yet get his way on the November games and announce his intention to stay on with Ireland. Those interviews are imminent and Scotland’s Vern Cotter – Schmidt’s former boss at Clermont Auvergne – is also expected to meet with the brass.
“We are talking about interviews any time now and we want to be totally inclusive,’’ Spencer told The Rugby Paper. “After the various interviews, we will make a final decision with announcements in September.”
We should know who will oversee the Lions’ mission improbable against the world champion All Blacks by the start of the 2016/17 season.
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