KEY POINTS:
If Brian McClennan can't work in a system where he doesn't call all the shots then he has no chance of succeeding at Leeds.
Hopefully McClennan's inference that his departure from the Kiwis had more to do with the NZRL's hiring of Graham Lowe and Tony Kemp than
with the big money on offer from Leeds is just a smokescreen. If not, then Bluey might as well not even unpack his bags when he arrives in Yorkshire.
McClennan's apparent grievance - that he wasn't consulted over the appointments of Lowe and Kemp - won't cut any mustard with Leeds chief executive Gary Hetherington.
At Leeds, Hetherington calls the shots. End of story.
In 1997, with Leeds on the brink of financial ruin following a 10th-placed finish in the first season of Super League, Hetherington teamed up with businessman Paul Caddick to take over the Rhinos. He was installed as chief executive and has been top dog ever since.
McClennan's new boss has a pretty decent record as a talent scout. Great Britain international Keith Senior, for example, was spotted playing rugby for the Huddersfield YMCA.
Every player on Leeds' books has been signed by Hetherington as, of course, was McClennan himself.
The idea that Hetherington would feel the need to consult with his new coach about anything other than what they should have for lunch is laughable.
Hetherington is not necessarily widely liked. His opponents view him as a politically savvy, ruthless manipulator. Even those close to him have experienced his ruthless side.
In 2001, Hetherington sacked then coach Dean Lance midway through a multi-year contract, appointing youth team coach Daryl Powell in his place. As a player, Powell was another Hetherington protege. At the time of his appointment, Hetherington touted him as the next Great Britain coach.
Just 18 months later, after a season in which they were defeated in the Challenge Cup final and dipped out of the playoffs one match short of the grand final, Hetherington announced Powell's sacking by saying he was to take a 12-month break. Australian Tony Smith was to take over on a temporary basis. Smith won the Grand Final in his first year. Powell never returned.
The message to McClennan is clear: succeed or else.
The great underachievers of British league with just one title and two Challenge Cups in the last 36 years, Leeds are nonetheless a powerhouse club. The pressure exerted by its massive but success-starved fans is second-to-none.
The British media, who collectively resent the excessive influence of foreigners in the game, will also pile the pressure on McClennan at the first opportunity.
Taking over the hot seat at a club like Leeds is a far cry from bringing a band of fellow countrymen together twice a year.
Whether McClennan, on his first professional assignment, has the tools for the job is unclear.
Leeds' playing roster boasts veteran internationals who have played under heavyweight coaches. McClennan's systems will be under intense scrutiny. If the senior players don't like what they see, it won't take long for an anti-brigade to develop.
It's also doubtful whether McClennan's "one big family" philosophy will cut it at a club like Leeds. That approach worked wonders at international level but the concept of sacrificing personal ambition for the greater good might not be so attractive to players whose wage packets depend on their individual performance.
McClennan's assertion that he could coach Leeds and the Kiwis at the same time was certainly a bold claim from a man with no professional experience. If anything, it speaks to the lack of time and effort demanded by the Kiwis job. At Leeds, he'll be working six 10-12 hour days, minimum.
McClennan's legacy as a great Kiwis coach was cemented with the 2005 Tri-Nations victory over Australia in Leeds. But whether that city will be as kind to him on his return is questionable.
It's hard not to like McClennan. He's an affable sort of guy whose passion for the game, his players and his country almost oozes out of his pores. But the way he has handled his departure from the Kiwis job smacks of someone angling for a contractual payout.
McClennan said he dearly wanted to stay on as Kiwis coach. But he also insinuated he couldn't work with Lowe and Kemp - and chose to sign a big money deal in England knowing there was a clause in his contract preventing him from residing overseas.
Those actions don't suggest someone who really wanted to stay.
Regardless of his messy divorce with the NZRL, McClennan deserves to go with league fans' best wishes. But if he thinks he's going somewhere where he'll get to call all the shots then he's in for a huge shock.
