Mike Blair could remain at Edinburgh Rugby as attack coach, working under the new boss

Mike Blair, who announced on Friday that he was standing down as head coach of Edinburgh, has not ruled out the possibility of remaining at the club and working under his successor.

Mike Blair admitted he was taking a risk in stepping down as head coach of Edinburgh. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

The 41-year-old, who succeeded Richard Cockerill in July 2021, admitted he was taking a risk in opting to resign with no new job lined up but said he was at peace with his decision. Blair is stepping away from the head coach’s role in order to pursue his ambition to be a “world-class attack coach”. It’s the part of the job he enjoys most and he said he had found it increasingly difficult to combine coaching with the role’s other demands.

Edinburgh and Scottish Rugby have begun the search for a replacement and Blair said it was not beyond the bounds of possibility that he could stay on and work with the new boss. “I don’t know yet,” he said. “The first port of call is to get the head coach role sorted out. That is the focus and most important thing then we will look at me. I have made, you may say, a bit of a risk in doing what I have done because I have effectively handed in my notice and don’t have a job to go to but I will wait and see what happens. I have loved being at the club and I played at the club for 11 years and then these two years as head coach. I feel I have a really good affinity with the players but ultimately that decision does not rest with me.”

Asked if he would not find it difficult to work under the new boss after being in charge himself for two seasons, Blair said: “My mind maybe works in a different way. Part of this is me, what I want. But part of it is for the club. How can we make this an even stronger coaching group? I want what's best for the club. Sure, a lot of it is about what’s best for me individually but I want the club to be as strong as possible. I’ve worked under some outstanding head coaches - Dave Rennie and Gregor [Townsend] stand out in particular, and I’ve loved that. We’ll wait and see what happens.”