Lets get this right if/when Mc.D does go it wont be first time we'vd let a Coach leave after success.
Smith got us that elusive 1st title in 30+ years then won it again before departing with another GF app a CC final app & a WCC win thrown in.
Bluey got us back to back GF wins which completed a 3peat along with a WCC win & CC final apps.
Mcdermott has done the lot as Coach but now his time looks to be coming to an end & i think losing Sinfield/JP has left him somewhat exposed & us rudderless.
There comes a time when a change is just what's needed this includes players & Coaches alike despite
Circumstances i think that time has arrived.

True all coaches have a shelf life, could well be that time has come for McDermott

Let's assume for the sake of argument Brian Mac goes,although i suspect at the end of the season he may fall on his sword and depart. Who would we seek to replace him?.

Like i said elsewhere there will be plenty of interest irrespective of the current plight its one of the top jobs in RL.
Of course WHO we hire is down to GH & id hope it includes a whole new backroom team from Assistants to a new Acadamy director & conditioning staff.
Personally id love to see Powell but doubt he'd leave Cas there's Kearney Furner Toovey Dunemann i wouldn't mind Smith coming back or as an outside bet try for Trent Robinson.

The McDermott legacy is clear for all to see both on the field and off it. His replacement has an enormous job to repair the damage done, I can't imagine there will be another cheap option this time around and that will be a concern to the CEO.

I imagine there will be plenty of cheap options (e.g. McNamara), but not many *good* cheap options

It's worth bearing in mind that GH has never changed the coach mid-season. Getting rid of McDermott now would set a major precedent (for Leeds). I'd imagine this would only happen if a suitably good candidate emerges that GH is prepared to trust to take the reins from the outset - seems highly unlikely to me.

If the plan is Mac to move on or aside at the end of the year, and the man who will replace him is available now or could be, then surely it would make sense to install him asap or sometime this season, give him a chance in low key circumstances to bed in and sort things out so to hit the ground running in 2017.This year is all but done now bar a possible CC run so i see no need to drag it out for months with players not interested and constant rumours unsettling the camp.

Its all assumptions, but it does feel like the Mcdermott era is pretty much done, long term at least.

I won't be surprised if we have an Aussie coach next season at all.

Well Powell replaced Dean Lance several games in. But I can't see a mid-season departure. It's not like football when you have at least a dozen of viable and available candidates. They're also not afraid to splash the cash on getting a coach whose already in a job.

How many instances have their been of a coach being poached mid-season to join a rival?

Didn't Smith leave because he was offered the England job and Bluey because he wanted to return home. I don't recall either of them being fired.