Following an inconspicuous campaign that has played out since May of last year, Andrew and Matthew Johns may soon see their Samoan coaching dreams realised just months out from the start of the World Cup.
Since announcing the pair's plans to overhaul Samoa's underwhelming recent record and implement a program akin to the wildly successful Tongan team, both the eight immortal and his broadcasting brother have hit the same roadblock in their attempts to take the reins.
With the incumbent head coach, Matthew Parish, previously unwilling to step aside to allow the vaunted pair to commence leadership, the blueprint for those in blue jerseys has failed to be implemented across the past 11 months.
However, as reported Phil Rothfield of The Sunday Telegraph, Parish - a former Balmain Tigers representative and Cowboys assistant coach - is willing to end his coaching stint with the Samoans that commenced in 2013.
While the nuts and bolts of the brothers' roles with the world's No.8 ranked nation, Rothfield has suggested that the duo would be willing to perform their new duties on a pro bono basis.
Although their original idea was to lead the island nation alongside Sonny Bill Williams in a triangulated coaching setup, the latest whispers suggest that former Sharks boss John Morris could well step up with both Matthew and Andrew acting as lieutenants.
This proposed course of action comes less than two months after 'Joey' emphatically claimed that he held no desire to act as the head coach of a first-grade side.
Samoa's next Test is currently scheduled for Saturday, June 25 when they will face the Cook Islands in Sydney.
Though it is not yet known whether the Johns brothers will have succeeded in their succession plans by then, with Samoa's World Cup campaign set to start on Saturday, October 15 when they face England at St James' Park, Newcastle, a continuity is likely to be sought.
Neither brother has offered an updated comment on the matter at the time of writing.
