After enjoying a spectacular start to his stint with the England rugby team, the RFU are seemingly planning for life after Eddie Jones - and Ireland's Joe Schmidt may be a big part of it.
Having guided Ireland to Grand Slam success in this year's Six Nations, The Telegraph have reported that Schmidt 'would be considered a strong contenders for the position.'
Alongside Wales' Warren Gatland, Schmidt's contract with Ireland is due to expire at the end of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
With Jones' future in the role largely depending upon England's performance at that tournament, Steve Brown, the chief executive of the RFU confirmed that there would be no limits in place when his replacement was being sought:
Half of the Tier One coaches changed at the last World Cup and most of them were Northern Hemisphere, so they are going to go in different directions. To be honest, it's pretty competitive, so no-one's off limits. It's all to do with whether they fit the profile and the criteria that we're looking for.
The list is long at the moment and we are looking at everybody. Something we are looking at is that key international experience and success is going to be pretty critical in this. Whilst we would love to have an English head coach eventually our priority is still to get the best coach for England whether they are English or not.
Although there is no indication whatsoever that Schmidt would be interested in taking up the role if offered, it is likely that a successful campaign in 2019 could well see him return to his native New Zealand.
