Joe Schmidt has ruled out another head-coach job and said a Leinster return is not on his mind at the moment. His two-year run with Australia ends later this month, and the handover to Les Kiss comes after this month's Nations Championship fixtures against Ireland, France and Italy.
Joe Schmidt on coaching
He was blunt about where he stands. "I don't really have any ambition to keep coaching as a head coach or anything else" Schmidt said, adding: "I don't feel like I need to be a head coach, and I certainly don't need to be a national head coach."
That closes off the cleanest reading of his departure from Australia. The 60-year-old is not presenting this as a pause before another international job; he is saying the role itself no longer has appeal, at least for now.
Leinster and Leo Cullen
Leinster is the other obvious target for speculation because Schmidt won back-to-back European Cups during a three-year spell there. Leo Cullen will step down at the end of the 2026-27 season, which naturally keeps the job in view for any coach with Schmidt's record.
He brushed that aside too. Asked whether he would consider the Leinster job if approached, he replied: "Not at the moment." On the prospect of being pulled back into the same environment, he joked: "They've already got my son working for them, so I don't think they need the whole family."
Australia handover
The immediate job still has to be finished first. Schmidt will hand over the Wallabies reins to Les Kiss after the matches against Ireland, France and Italy, ending a two-year stint that started after his time with Ireland and Leinster had already put him among the most decorated coaches in the game.
His record with Ireland remains the backdrop to why the comments land hard. He won three Six Nations titles in a six-year spell and added the 2018 Grand Slam, then moved on to Australia and now appears to be drawing a line under head coaching rather than just a single appointment.
He also said he flies to Ireland on 10 August to see his new grandson. That detail fits the rest of the picture: a coach closing one chapter, turning down the immediate next one, and heading home without saying the door is fully shut forever.
