Anthony Seibold's telling act as Manly move on from Des Hasler

The last time Anthony Seibold accepted a head coaching role at an NRL club, he admitted he let his head over-rule his heart.

Or, more to the point, his wallet over-ruled his heart.

Seibold was a coach on the rise at South Sydney when he disappointed and shocked Rabbitohs officials by walking out after just one year to accept his dream job at Brisbane ahead of the 2019 season.

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The grass didn’t prove greener on the other side.

In fact, it all turned to mud as the Broncos won just 14 of 40 games under his watch before parting company with Seibold just 18 months into what was supposed to be a multi-year, multi-million-dollar deal.

"I made a business decision. I didn’t make a decision with my heart, I made a decision with my head and it went pear shaped," Seibold told News Corp earlier this year.

"There's so many things that went down that I look back on and reflect on. I regret leaving South Sydney.

"I was challenged and struggled (at Brisbane) and there's a lot of reasons for that, but I've got to hold my hand up because, ultimately, I'm the main reason it went pair shaped."

Ironically, it's Seibold's willingness to accept blame and learn from the Brisbane disaster that so impresses those now in charge of deciding Manly's next coach.

Josh Hannay's name has been thrown forward as part of a succession plan, with the current Sharks assistant joining next year and taking over in 2025 under the model put forward by Des Hasler and his management team.

That won't be happening, with Hasler's exit from the club possibly only days away following a blow-up of monstrous proportions with owner Scott Penn and CEO Tony Mestrov.

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Sea Eagles bosses are ignoring talk of a fan rebellion and legal action to push ahead with life beyond Hasler and want Seibold to take charge – the sooner the better.

They like what they see and hear and feel Seibold is a coach they can work with, a coach who won't demand the same level of autonomy as Hasler.

And even though he lives in the area and has worked as an assistant at Manly, Seibold will be a coach with no ties or allegiances to the powerful figures pulling the levers at the Sea Eagles.

One figure close to the situation at Manly told Yahoo Sport Australia: "They are really impressed with Seibold's honesty, integrity and humility.

"He learnt valuable lessons at Brisbane and has owned up to his mistakes and is a better person and coach as a result."

Seibold is the agent of change the club feels it needs.

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