The Warriors are adamant they won't be rushed into hiring a new head coach for their NRL side.
Cameron George has signed off on the departure of Shaun Johnson. Will he be looking for a new coach come the end of the 2019 season? Photo: Photosport
Another potential candidate is no longer in the mix for the job, with interim coach Todd Payten turning down an offer from the club to take the role on a permanent basis.
The embattled club has been searching for a fulltime replacement since they sacked Stephen Kearney six weeks ago, with playmaker Kodi Nikorima among those who had called for the process to be wrapped up as soon as possible.
But, in the wake of Payten's revelation he had turned down the job, chief executive Cameron George said they were committed to taking their time to find the right person.
"If it's two weeks, three weeks, four weeks... it could be three months, it doesn't worry us.
"We've got some great skilled coaches internally that we can continue to utilise.
"We've got to weigh up and get clarity on a number of issues and we're happy to take our time to get that clarity before we make an appointment."
Chief among those issues was the impact of Covid-19.
George said the global pandemic meant the process of confirming a new head coach was taking longer than it usually might.
"People are asking me right now why it's taking so long but the reality of the situation that we're in, is that we can't get people into this country and we're even struggling to get our players back due to restrictions.
"First and foremost we want to get the right outcome but secondly I don't know what the next six months is going to look like - I don't know whether this club is going to based out of Australia this year or based back in New Zealand.
"They're all major factors to employing people. There all major factors for people considering whether or not they want to work for this club.
"There's so many balls in the air with regards to that."
Also up in the air was Payten's future with the club, after he decided not to take the head coach role, largely because of a family health situation.
The former NRL forward is contracted as an assistant coach with the Warriors until the end of next season, but has also expressed his interest in the vacant head coach role at the Cowboys.
George said the two parties would work together towards an agreement.
"We understand our obligations to Todd, and vice versa.
"However, things could change dramatically in this world at the moment and, I don't want to get into the detail and elaborate on it, he's got some personal challenges there that they're working through as a family.
"They've got our full support with regards to that and that's our focus at the moment."