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'They did an amazing job': New Harlequins deals for backroom trio
By Kim Ekin
Harlequins coaches Nick Evans, Adam Jones and Jerry Flannery have signed new unspecified length deals to continue on at the Gallagher Premiership club. All three played an integral part in helping to stabilise the club following the exit of Paul Gustard in January 2021, inspiring them to go on and win the league title five months later, and their reward now is fresh deals at The Stoop.
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A Harlequins statement read: “Harlequins is delighted to announce that coaches Adam Jones (scrum coach), Jerry Flannery (lineout and defence coach) and Nick Evans (attack and backs coach) have put pen to paper on new deals at The Stoop as the English champions continue to build for long-term, sustained success following their 2020/21 Premiership triumph.”
Senior coach Tabai Matson, who arrived at Harlequins as Gustard’s successor last summer, said about Evans, Flannery and Jones: “The coaching group did an amazing job last year with a fantastic team. It’s always interesting to come from the outside and join a cohesive group – and that’s exactly what they were. They are a high functioning team.
“One thing I have really enjoyed is that they are all completely different. They have different energies, they are all fantastic within their portfolios and they all compliment each other really well. For me, joining a team like that was exciting. It’s fantastic that they have all re-signed as a group.
“What Nick brings to the table is an analytical view. He has got all that experience from his playing days but now he is leading and driving the likes of Marcus and Danny. We are blessed to have him in the mix.
“He is completely different to Jerry, who brings this real intensity to the way he leads the lineouts and the defence. He is a fantastic practitioner and I’m not sure if it’s just his accent but he is a wonderful storyteller and he drives a lot of the energy in the week.
“And of course, Bomb (Jones), our Welshman. It’s really an eclectic group of nations, which is one of the things we love about the game, isn’t it? Our scrum has often been the thing that has kept us in games, so with his experience and the way he drives the scrummaging, he has been a key part of the success here so far.”
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Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple added: “We are all delighted to have three such highly regarded individuals sign new contracts with the club. Alongside Billy Millard (director of rugby performance) and Charlie Mulchrone (skills and kicking coach], Nick, Adam and Jerry guided this team to one of the most incredible stories in the Premiership’s history.
“Overseeing a return to Harlequins’ DNA of old as the team has tapped into the club’s historic and famous style of play, we have seen huge engagement and interaction not only from our supporters but the wider sporting world.
“Alongside the 17 recent key player contract renewals, we are all thrilled to have Nick, Adam and Jerry commit their futures with us. By signing new and permanent deals within our coaching team working alongside Billy, Charlie and Tabai, we have built a brilliant team to help our squad grow, develop and to achieve our ambitious goals.”
This is an interesting move by Quins and it will be worth watching to see if it gets more widely adopted. By putting their coaches on permanent contracts, they are locking them in for the long term and making it harder for them to be enticed away by other opportunities.
While both the club and the coaches will no doubt have break clauses for, say, sustained underperformance or if an international side comes calling, it's a big bet by both sides that they can build something for the long term.
Quins were one of the first sides to move to 3 year and (sometimes) even longer term playing contracts, and other teams now seem to be copying that. Only time will tell whether this approach to coaching contracts catches on.