Brian McDermott confirmed as new Featherstone coach

Featherstone have appointed Brian McDermott as their new head coach. 

The 51-year-old succeeds James Webster, who parted ways with Featherstone last week by mutual consent.

Webster, 42, guided Rovers to the Championship Grand Final this year, where they lost to Toulouse. They also won the 1895 Cup at Wembley after beating York in the final.

McDermott guided Leeds to four Super League titles, three Challenge Cups, a League Leaders’ Shield and a World Club Challenge between 2011-18.

McDermott’s last head coaching role came with Toronto Wolfpack. He helped the Canadian club gain promotion to Super League via the Million Pound Game in 2019 at Featherstone’s expense.

He has spent time in the Championship this season with Oldham, where he was a coaching consultant.

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Featherstone chairman delighted to appoint Brian McDermott

Featherstone chairman Mark Campbell is confident McDermott can help them achieve their goal of reaching Super League.

Campbell said: “I’ve made it  really clear in my tenure at the club that I’m committed to giving everything I possibly can to bring Super League status to this club, it is what this club deserves.

“I’ve known and worked with Brian previously and I know he is the right fit for this club to take us to the next level.

“We have moved quickly to take this opportunity; it is not every day you get the chance to bring a top class coach like Brian to your club and we are extremely excited about working together moving forward.”

McDermott started his coaching career at Harlequins. He spent five seasons with the capital club before his move to Leeds. He also coached the USA at the 2017 World Cup.

As a player, McDermott was a one-club man for Bradford. The former prop made 251 appearances for the Bulls between 1994-2003. He won four international caps for Great Britain.

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