Former Penrith Panthers General Manager Phil Gould has claimed that he believes that Cameron Ciraldo should remain at the foot of the Blue Mountains, despite heavy interest from the rebuilding Wests Tigers.
Having been the one to elevate Ciraldo to his current position as Ivan Cleary's righthand man, Gould is far more familiar than most with the inner workings of the man still in the Tigers' sights.
Speaking on Nines' 100% Footy, the 63-year-old broke down the resume of the pedagogue currently being chased by the Concord club to replace recently departed first-grade steward, Michael Maguire.
"Cameron Ciraldo has come through 10 or 11 years with the Panthers in the system. He came there as a second-tier player in the backend of his career. He coached an Under 20s team to two grand finals, winning a premiership," Gould commenced.
"He was promoted then to assistant first-grade coach. He was the interim there for a while and he's served Ivan Cleary really well over the last three years. They've been to two grand finals, they've won a premiership and they'll probably win it again this year."
Having seen the elevation of local juniors such as Brian To'o and Jarome Luai from the bottom rungs of Penrith's program to premiership glory in 2021, Ciraldo's relationships with the four walls at BlueBet are rock solid and remain his greatest selling point, according to Gould.
"He's in a very, very good environment with a great club and he's cradled all those boys from birth. He's known them all since they were teenagers," the influential administrator and pundit contended.
"It's the perfect environment out there for him at the moment, but there will come a time where (sic) he is either going to be the head coach of the Panthers in the future or he's going to have to branch out and learn (about) other clubs and what being a head coach is all about."
"That's very, very different. Very Different. This is what a lot of assistant coaches have found."
Gould went on to stress the impediments fresh faces encounter after taking the reins at clubland - including tackling the media - and claimed newbies don't come under fire due to a lack of footy IQ.
"There's (sic) so many things that go into being a head coach these days that just weren't like that many, many years ago," he continued.
"That's why some find it tough. They don't lose their jobs because they don't know the game and they can't coach, it's the other stuff that overwhelms them."
Gould doubled down on his stance that the Bulldogs are yet to open dialogue about the vacant head coaching role when quizzed about Canterbury's potential interest in Ciraldo, claiming that the Belmore side was "not a great advertisement for a coach at the moment".
Yet, while the Tigers are in the marketplace to land the vaunted assistant after reportedly tabling a five-year deal and meeting with Ciraldo within the past 48-hours, Gould was at pains to stress that a decision would not be made any time soon.
"Cameron Ciraldo doesn't make decisions lightly," he stated.
"I can tell you one thing about Cameron Ciraldo, there won't be any announcements in the next coming weeks because he will take his time about what he decides. He's very meticulous in his adjudication."
Still, if the 37-year-old were to get on the blower to Gould and ask for advice about where to lay his hat beyond the cessation of the 2022 season, the Bulldogs GM expressed his advice would be blunt.
"Coach the Panthers," Gould disclosed.
"That would be my recommendation. I'll be absolutely shocked if he leaves. If he leaves, he needs to be very careful about the next choice that he makes.
"I can't speak for what Cameron's thinking, but I also saw him as a long-term chance of being the head coach of the Panthers.
"Make sure you're putting yourself in the club with the money and the proven record of success. It's a bit young to be taking on a rebuild at this stage. That's (sic) just my thoughts. It's up to him. It's his career."
Ciraldo appears likely to continue his interim stint against the Warriors this coming weekend following the news that Cleary had spent a portion of last week in ICU due to blood clots in his legs.
Intriguingly, the Panthers and Tigers are set to face off on July 17.
