Ulster have confirmed that Dan McFarland has stepped down as head coach, bringing an end to his six years in charge of the province.
It has also been confirmed that Ireland U20 head coach Richie Murphy will take interim charge until the end of the season, once the Under-20s Six Nations has concluded.
It's extremely rare in club rugby that a head coach leaves mid-season, but judging by the reaction from Ulster fans to McFarland's post-match comments following the loss to Ospreys at the weekend, this departure is perhaps less surprising.
McFarland pinned the blame on the referee, leading to many calls on social media for the Englishman to leave the province, and those pleas have now been answered.
Ulster Rugby and @IrishRugby can confirm that Dan McFarland will step down from his position as Head Coach.
Full story ⤵️— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) February 21, 2024
Bernard Jackman tips Jared Payne for Ulster job
Naturally enough, attention has turned to who will succeed McFarland permanently, and RTÉ pundit Bernard Jackman feels that former Ireland international Jared Payne would be the number one choice of the playing squad.
Payne is currently backs coach at Scarlets, who are third-from-bottom in the URC, and his previous job as assistant with Clermont didn't go much better.
Jackman feels that the head coach appointment should be the first big decision for David Humphreys, who is due to take over from David Nucifora as High Performance Director.
Payne has no experience as a head coach but has experience of working with Ulster as a backs coach from 2018 until 2022. He was also a key member of the Ireland team that won the Six Nations in 2015, after effectively replacing the retired Brian O'Driscoll.
Jackman feels that the 38-year-old would be the popular choice among players, with Murphy and Bordeaux attack coach Noel McNamara also getting a mention.
8 October 2021; Ulster defence coach Jared Payne before the United Rugby Championship match between Ulster and Benetton at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Jared Payne has previously worked with Ulster
"It will probably be David Humphreys' first big task, I know he's not officially starting for a while but realistically, this should be Humphreys' decision, not Nucifora's," said Jackman on the RTÉ Rugby Podcast.
"Humphreys is the one who is going to have to stand over it over the next cycle. He's someone from Ulster and it will be interesting to see what they try and do.
"Do they go for a young Irish coach like Richie Murphy or Noel McNamara? I would say the name most likely to come in if they're going to come from outside is Jared Payne. If the players had a choice tomorrow morning, it would be Jared Payne.
"It hasn't gone that well with Clermont or Scarlets but certainly when he was with Ulster, he was very highly-regarded. I believe he's someone on the shortlist for Leinster to replace Andrew Goodman, so would be go back to Ulster as head coach?
"I think Bryn Cunningham, director of operations, can probably go and get a young head coach and allow himself to do the director of rugby stuff, the recruitment, liaise with the board.
"Their model is probably going to be a little bit like Leinster, where Leo (Cullen) does a lot of the off-field stuff, while Jacques Nienaber or Stuart Lancaster look after the rugby.
"If you go down that route, if you have an experienced person in a recruitment role, then you can take a risk on someone who's not a proven head coach. Payne, Murphy or McNamara are the three that I would say are most likely."
McFarland will leave Ulster as their longest-serving coach in the professional era, having joined the province in 2018. His time with Ulster saw them reach the Pro14 final in 2020, two Champions Cup quarter-finals, as well as the Challenge Cup semi-finals in 2021.
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