Michael Cheika is poised to complete a stunning return to NSW Waratahs, putting his ambitions of coaching an NRL club on hold -- at least for the next couple of years.
The former NSW and Wallabies coach is reportedly in the final stages of negotiations with Rugby Australia, who owns the Waratahs license, and will soon return to the team he guided to the 2014 Super Rugby title, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Cheika quickly became the odds-on favourite to take charge at Daceyville following Dan McKellar's departure two years into a three-year deal.
The recent signings of veteran Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps, both on one-year deals, added further weight to Cheika's case, given the duo were also a part of the 2014 triumph.
And while he has for the past few years harboured ambitions to be a head coach in the NRL, no club has been brave enough to take a punt on Cheika, despite the 59-year-old having coached Lebanon to the 2022 Rugby League World Cup.
"As a son of immigrants, to come here from a country that isn't well-known or reputable in rugby league, it's the ultimate [honour]," Cheika said of his Lebanon coaching role recently.
"I never thought I'd be able to contribute to the country... to contribute to the country in my 'area of expertise' [as Lebanon's coach]... is something that gives me a lot of pleasure."
"It's been something for me that I can't tell you how good it's been for me. So I've loved it..."
And he will fill the Lebanon role again in October, Cheika to lead the Cedars before he completes his Waratahs homecoming. His commitments as a Sydney Roosters assistant will also have concluded by then.
ESPN understands Cheika was spoken to for the vacant St George Illawarra position, since filled by interim boss Dean Young, but that the club never seriously progressed the conversation.
While Cheika has spent the past 12 months at the Roosters, his most recent rugby job was with English club Leicester, whom he took to the 2024-25 Premiership final.
Before that, Cheika coached Argentina, recording two historic wins over the All Blacks in New Zealand as well as a fourth placed finish at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
And while his pursuit of an NRL job has increased in recent times, Cheika has also long dreamt of a second crack with the Wallabies, after his six-year reign came to an end with the team's quarterfinal exit at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Whether that too proves a mountain too high to scale remains to be seen, but leading the Waratahs back to a position that befits their talent resources and stature in Super Rugby would be a good start.
With Cheika unavailable until November, the Waratahs last week locked in their coaching team for the Super Rugby Aus competition, which begins later this month.
Lockie McCaffrey will lead the Waratahs alongside assistant Dan Palmer, while injured Wallabies scrum-half Jake Gordon will also be involved alongside the recently retired Jack Debreczeni.
Cheika will be the Waratahs' fourth different coach in seven years, with Rob Penney, Darren Coleman and McKellar all having come and gone since Daryl Gibson's departure at the end of the 2019 Super Rugby season.
The Waratahs have played finals only twice through that period and this season finished eighth after a promising start that saw them win their first two games.