Scott Johnson will be director of rugby at Murrayfield rather than remain head coach of the national team after the summer, the SRU have confirmed.
Johnson took Scotland to third place in the RBS Six Nations, their best performance since 2006, as interim head coach and will remain in that position for the Quadrangular tournament in South Africa in June.
But on the appointment of a new head coach later this summer he will move to the recreated post of director of rugby.
The post was described by Scottish Rugby chief executive Mark Dodson as “absolutely integral to Scotland’s standing on the world stage in the next decade and beyond.”
Johnson will take a broader long-term view while still being involved with the Scotland team through to the 2015 Rugby World Cup “and beyond”, added Dodson.
The move is sure to heighten speculation that Scottish Rugby’s target for the national team head coaching position is Johnson’s fellow Australian, the highly-rated Queensland Reds coach Ewen McKenzie, who is set to move on from Super Rugby at the conclusion of that competition in August.
“It’s imperative that we get the right candidate as head coach of the national team to take us to the 2015 Rugby World Cup,” said Dodson.
“Scott and I are working together on this and have thought long and hard about the best solution and people for Scottish Rugby to continue to head in the right direction.
“Johnno has been a popular coach with the players, as underlined by our third place finish in the most recent RBS 6 Nations Championship, and as he’s said he enjoys hands-on coaching and his reputation in that role has been enhanced by his work with the Scotland team.
“But he also has other qualities in abundance that we wish to utilise and it was a decision that was made by both parties to get the best structures and systems in place to take Scottish rugby forward.”
He continued: “Scott will lead on player acquisition and contracting, and he’ll be responsible for driving a new Academy structure and for heading up our coach development, which includes our priority of nurturing the next generation of Scottish coaches who can operate at elite level.”
Johnson had hinted throughout the spring that he might prefer a developmental, overseeing role than being just the national team’s head coach.
“I’m delighted that the discussions I’ve had with Mark have reached such a positive conclusion,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed working with the players throughout the past year and I’m looking forward to that continuing with our quadrangular tournament in South Africa next month.
“The director of rugby job excites me. It’s about making a really positive contribution that will stand Scottish Rugby in good stead for years to come and I am looking forward to the challenge of the new role as well as continuing with the Scotland team.”
The director of rugby role at Murrayfield was previous occupied by Jim McGeechan and Jim Telfer in the early 2000s, but the lack of success of the national team and paucity of home-grown coaches since then underlined by a fourth successive Lions Tour with three or less Scots on the trip indicates that their tenure was nowhere near as successful as their stints as head coach.
Johnson’s job before coming to Murrayfield was a director of rugby post at Ospreys, and the team twice won the Celtic league title in his time there.
Earlier this week Murrayfield confirmed that Jonathan Humphreys, the forwards coach for the Welsh region since 2006, was taking a similar role with Scotland.