Wolfpack: McDermott inks long-term deal

Fresh from signing All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams, the Toronto Wolfpack have given head coach Brian McDermott a new five-year contract.

“We feel that there isn’t a better coach out there that can lead this team to greatness,” Wolfpack chairman and CEO Bob Hunter said in a statement Tuesday. “It doesn’t matter if you have talented players on the field unless you have someone like Brian to lead and guide them to reach their absolute full potential and that’s where we feel he does his best work.

“We are extremely fortunate that Brian has decided to commit to our team long-term and feel that he is a vital part of this organization going forward.”

McDermott joined Toronto in November 2018, one day after the transatlantic rugby league club parted ways with Paul Rowley after two seasons at the helm. In his first season in charge, McDermott led the Wolfpack to a 26-1-0 record atop the second-tier Betfred Championship before downing Toulouse and Featherstone Rovers to win promotion to the top-tier Super League.

The 49-year-old McDermott, a former England and Great Britain international, had previously coached Leeds Rhinos to a slew of trophies. But he was fired in July 2018 with the injuryplagued Rhinos, the reigning Super League champions, mired in a seven-game losing streak and fighting to maintain their place in the top-flight.

McDermott helped recruit Williams, flying to Japan to have dinner with the 34-year-old All Black after New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup semifinal loss to England.

Brian Noble, the Wolfpack’s director of rugby, and McDermott have history. McDermott played nine years at Bradford Bulls, three of which were under Noble.