Kieran Foran is reshaping Manly’s football department before his first full season as head coach, with three senior staff members departing following the Sea Eagles’ failure to reach the 2026 finals.
Head of football Peter Gentle, coaching development and leadership manager Aaron Greaves and NSW Cup coach Brett Kimmorley are all set to leave the club.
The departures continue a dramatic year at Brookvale after Anthony Seibold was dismissed near the beginning of the season and replaced by Foran, who had only retired from playing several months earlier.
Foran initially produced an extraordinary turnaround, winning seven of his first nine matches and lifting Manly into fifth position.
However, the Sea Eagles could not sustain that momentum and ultimately missed the finals, prompting another significant restructure before the 2027 campaign.
Gentle and Greaves Leave Manly
Gentle arrived at Manly as recruitment manager in 2023 before moving into the head of football position.
He became an important figure within the Sea Eagles’ football operation and was regularly seated beside Foran in the coaches’ box following the change of head coach.
His departure removes an experienced administrator who worked closely with both Seibold and Foran.
Greaves will also leave after spending only one season at Brookvale.
The experienced AFL mentor joined Manly ahead of the 2026 campaign after more than a decade working with Carlton, Melbourne, North Melbourne and Port Adelaide.
Seibold recruited Greaves as the club’s coaching development and leadership manager, with additional responsibilities involving kicking and catching.
“Aaron is a world-class mentor who is very well respected in AFL circles,” Seibold said when the appointment was announced.
“He will bring some new ideas to the table and obviously we’ll lean into his experience in the specialist area of kicking and catching.”
Seibold’s departure only weeks into the season immediately changed the environment Greaves had been recruited to join.
His exit now represents another step away from the football structure built under the former Broncos and Rabbitohs coach.
Kimmorley Departure Reportedly for Personal Reasons
Kimmorley’s situation is different from the departures of Gentle and Greaves.
The former Australian and NSW halfback is understood to have left his position for personal reasons rather than being directly removed as part of Foran’s overhaul.
Kimmorley was appointed Manly’s NSW Cup coach before the 2026 season after previously leading the Wests Tigers’ inaugural NRLW side.
His reserve-grade team endured a disastrous campaign, winning only two of its 22 matches.
That record would inevitably have placed the NSW Cup program under review, particularly because reserve grade is essential to developing players capable of supporting the NRL squad.
However, reports have specifically attributed Kimmorley’s departure to personal circumstances.
It would therefore be inaccurate to present all three exits as sackings ordered by Foran.
The outcome is nevertheless the same: Manly must replace three important figures across its senior football, leadership and pathways operations.
Foran Has Earned the Right to Build His Own Staff
Foran did not begin the season expecting to become Manly’s head coach.
He returned to Brookvale as an assistant after completing his playing career with Gold Coast and was supposed to learn beneath Seibold.
That arrangement lasted only several matches.
Manly dismissed Seibold after a winless start and handed control to Foran, initially on an interim basis.
The former premiership-winning five-eighth immediately changed the mood surrounding the club.
Manly won seven of his first nine games, climbed rapidly up the ladder and rewarded him with a three-year contract through the end of 2029.
“I care deeply about this club, and I want what’s best for everyone involved in it,” Foran said when his permanent appointment was announced.
“I will do everything within my power to make sure it’s a success.”
The Sea Eagles credited Foran with restoring clarity, belief and stronger standards to a playing group that had begun the season in crisis.
Giving him the permanent position made it logical that he would eventually reshape the football department around his own methods.
Foran inherited a staff assembled primarily for Seibold.
The 2027 campaign will be the first opportunity to judge him with a preseason, recruitment plan and coaching group built specifically around his vision.
Missing the Finals Changed the Story
Foran’s early results created expectations that would have appeared unrealistic when he took control.
After starting the season without a victory, Manly suddenly appeared capable of finishing inside the top four.
The decision to appoint him permanently seemed straightforward when the Sea Eagles had won seven of nine matches and climbed to fifth.
The ending was considerably less convincing.
Manly slipped out of finals contention and failed to capitalise upon the platform established during Foran’s opening months.
That collapse does not erase the improvement he produced after replacing Seibold.
It does demonstrate that emotional energy and a coaching change were not enough to solve every weakness inside the organisation.
The Sea Eagles still need to improve their depth, defensive consistency and ability to remain competitive when injuries affect their most influential players.
Tom Trbojevic’s availability remains central to their premiership hopes, while the club must prepare for a period in which several experienced leaders are approaching the end of their careers.
Those challenges require a stronger system beneath the NRL team.
Replacing key football staff gives Foran an opportunity to build it.
Manly Cannot Replace Experience With Nostalgia
Foran’s connection to the Sea Eagles is one of his greatest strengths.
He played 196 matches across two stints with Manly and won the 2011 premiership alongside Daly Cherry-Evans.
He understands the club, its expectations and the importance supporters place upon preserving Manly’s traditional identity.
That history helped him reconnect with the playing group following Seibold’s departure.
It should not determine every appointment he makes next.
Foran remains an extremely inexperienced head coach. His rapid success does not change the fact that he has completed less than one full season in charge of an NRL team.
He needs accomplished assistants willing to challenge his decisions rather than a collection of familiar former teammates or club favourites.
Manly should prioritise tactical expertise, development experience and the ability to improve a reserve-grade system that produced only two victories.
A strong assistant with previous head-coaching experience could be particularly valuable.
Foran’s authority should remain clear, but surrounding a rookie coach with people possessing different strengths would give the Sea Eagles a more balanced football department.
Departures Place More Pressure on Remaining Staff
Assistant coach Jim Dymock and head of performance Jon Clarke were important members of Manly’s 2026 structure.
Clarke was also handed responsibility for the forwards, while Dymock brought extensive experience from previous roles across the NRL.
The club must now decide how much continuity it wants to preserve.
Removing too many staff members simultaneously can create instability and force players to learn an entirely new structure during one preseason.
Retaining selected figures would help preserve the positive elements of Foran’s mid-season turnaround while allowing new appointments to address the problems exposed later in the campaign.
The departures of Gentle, Greaves and Kimmorley do not confirm that further changes are coming.
They do, however, leave several substantial vacancies that Manly must fill before preseason preparations accelerate.
Foran’s Honeymoon Period Is Over
Foran entered the head-coaching position with considerable goodwill.
He was a popular former player replacing a coach whose relationship with parts of the playing group had reportedly deteriorated.
His immediate winning record strengthened the belief that Manly had discovered a natural coach capable of restoring the club’s traditional aggression and resilience.
That goodwill will not protect him indefinitely.
The Sea Eagles appointed Foran through 2029 because they believe he can build a premiership contender, not merely produce a temporary improvement.
His first full season will bring different expectations.
The squad will understand his methods, opponents will have time to analyse his tactical preferences and every major decision within the football department will increasingly carry his fingerprints.
Foran can no longer be described as an interim coach attempting to rescue someone else’s season.
He is now building his own program.
The departure of three senior staff members gives him the freedom to appoint people who share his standards and complement his weaknesses.
It also removes potential excuses if Manly again falls short.
Foran promised to do everything within his power to make the Sea Eagles successful.
The dismantling of the old football structure suggests he has begun acting on that promise.
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