Last month, Joseph signed on to coach the side for another two years and he said yesterday the franchise was finalising the rest of the management team for next season.
Joseph had come to the end of his initial deal and did not re-sign for another two years until early last month. He said until that happened, no-one committed to next season, which was understandable.
Keane and Culhane had both returned home straight after the end of the season, with Keane coaching Tasman and Culhane tied up with the Southland side. Other members of the management team had been on holiday.
A full review of the team and season had been carried out last week and this week the whole management team for next year was being finalised.
Joseph said he did not want to sign on for another two years any earlier as he was concentrating on the game on the field.
Culhane had travelled up to Dunedin for two years to coach the Highlanders at their Dunedin base and still had family and business interests in Invercargill.
Joseph said Culhane had a difficult decision to make regarding his Highlanders future.
Keane was also in the same boat, having been involved in the Tasman coaching set-up for the past four years.
Joseph coached the forwards and Culhane the backs while Keane worked on defence and individual skills.
It was a good mix, with Joseph and Culhane having backgrounds with Otago and Southland respectively while Keane was a vastly experienced coach with strengths in defence and video analysis.
Keane, a former All Black, had coached overseas along with other provincial teams and national age-group sides.
Team manager Leicester Rutledge is also not confirmed for next season.
Culhane was based in Dunedin during the week and tried to get home as often as possible. But with the season up to 16 games long, and running into July, that was not always possible.
Joseph wished to have the coaching and management team confirmed by the end of this week.
Although the Super 15 finished earlier this month and the Highlanders would not start training again until late November, it was still important to have coaches and off-field structures in place as early as possible.
With franchise direct contracting firmly in place, players will look just as much to the name of the coaches and franchise structure as to their wallets when deciding on what team to play for.
Joseph had enticed some quality players to the South such as Hosea Gear and Tamati Ellison and will want to continue to do so to make his side highly competitive for next season.
The Highlanders finished ninth this year, after winning nine games.
