Tony Brown’s two-year, second stint as Highlanders coach ended on Saturday night with a 35-6 quarterfinal loss to the Blues, followed by a rapid departure to Japan, where he works alongside former Highlanders boss Jamie Joseph with the Brave Blossoms.
Brown remains a beloved figure in the South thanks to his playing career and role in helping the Highlanders to a championship in 2015, but the Highlanders need to move quickly to secure his replacement and move on from a poor season.
Clark said yesterday an announcement would be made in the next 10 days.
The Highlanders intended to appoint a head coach who "understands our region, our people and our club, and can get the best out of the people they are working with".
Interviews with prospective head coaches had already been completed, Clark said, and the Highlanders were now in negotiations with their first choice.
He declined to say how many people had been interviewed, or whether the leading candidate was from the existing staff or an outsider.
"At this stage, we just need to get through the process," Clark said.
"We’ve got a timeframe but we’re not rushing it.
"We pretty much know what we want our coaching team to look like over the next three or four years, because we want to be successful over three or four years, not just next year."
The leading local candidate for the job is assistant coach Clarke Dermody, a popular and long-serving contributor to the Highlanders who did a good job as interim boss in Super Rugby Transtasman last year.
Former Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd, finishing a spell overseeing the Northampton club in England, had been a rumoured candidate.
Clark acknowledged he had spoken to Boyd, but merely as part of the Highlanders’ exhaustive process of tapping into the knowledge of rugby brains in all areas.
"I have talked to dozens of coaches both in New Zealand and around the world, not just to discuss their availability or interest but to discuss different clubs and programmes and how they are evolving.
"Chris is one of those, as he has a vast amount of experience. However, the discussions with Chris have not been about him being a coach."
The Highlanders have been flat out doing one-on-one reviews this week before letting the players go for a break, then All Blacks or NPC commitments.
Clark said there was no doubt the season, which ended with a record of four wins and 11 losses, was disappointing.
"In saying that, I was proud of the effort the lads put in, and although we didn’t get the wins, we didn’t at any stage have a blow-out.
"So I’m proud of the consistently high performances considering our inadequacies.
"We have several young players who will be better for playing in 2022 and we have an outstanding forward pack ... I am sure many will attain higher honours over the next couple of years."
The performance of the Highlanders under-20 team also bode well for the future, Clark said.
He backed the efforts of the coaching staff, especially the "world-class" Brown, whose arm had to be twisted to come back in the top job.
"Tony will be the first to admit that I had to convince him to be head coach and that wasn’t his preference, but he undertook that job to the best of his ability.
"He loves this team and will always be an important part of it, even when he is an All Black coach, which in my view is not too far away."
The Highlanders had 80% of their squad for 2023 in place, Clark said.
Third-string halfback Kayne Hammington was heading to Japan, opening the door for Noah Hotham or Nathan Hastie, and veteran lock Bryn Evans had indicated his time was done.
Liam Coltman and Patelesio Tomkinson are the other confirmed departures.
