The Newcastle Knights reportedly have the right to terminate head coach Adam O'Brien at the end of the 2024 season if the club falls into the bottom five at any point during the final three weeks of the NRL season.
O'Brien's tenure in Newcastle was headlined by a staggering second half of the 2023 campaign, where he dragged his side from a wooden spoon candidate to a top eight finish, with a home elimination final win against the Canberra Raiders, before a loss on the road to the New Zealand Warriors in the semi-finals.
His time in the Hunter outside of that has been a struggle though, and The Sydney Morning Herald have now revealed that when O'Brien re-signed last year, his contract had a clause inserted which said the club could move to axe the embattled mentor if his side dropped into the bottom five - 13th spot or below on the table - at any point during the final three rounds of this season.
It's understood the termination of his contract could only take place for the final two years of his deal - in 2026 and 2027 - meaning O'Brien would have the 2025 campaign to coach his way out of the axe and have the Knights' board restore confidence in his abilities to guide the team through 2026 and 2027.
It's also understood that the 2024 season is the only year with performance clauses inserted into the coach's contract.
The Knights refused to comment publicly on the issue of O'Brien's future, but his Knights side will likely drop to the potential point of no return without wins over the final weeks of the season.
Currently sitting in 11th place after a loss to the Cronulla Sharks in golden point on Sunday afternoon, the men from the Hunter are just two points ahead of the 13th-placed Gold Coast Titans, although do have a small for and against advantage.
The Knights play the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Titans and Dolphins over the final weeks of the season, with that game against the Titans now shaping as a crunch clash to avoid the bottom five spots.
It's not the first time O'Brien has had to coach for his future after the club almost moved away from O'Brien while the Knights were on the bottom of the table last year.
His run to the semi-final ultimately saw his contract extended by three years, from the end of 2024, to the end of 2027.
