BRISBANE, Australia (AP) The Queensland Reds fired head coach Richard Graham on Monday after two losses to open the Super Rugby season, appointing existing assistants Matt O'Connor and Nick Stiles as interim co-coaches ahead of a global search for a permanent replacement for 2017.
The Reds won the Super Rugby title in 2011 under Ewen McKenzie, who later became Australia's head coach and handed the Queensland job over to Graham in 2013.
Under Graham, a long-time Australian Sevens representative, the Reds won nine of 34 games and his position came under increasing scrutiny after losses to the New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney in the opening round and a defeat to the Western Force last weekend.
Queensland Rugby Union chairman Damien Frawley announced the decision in a statement, saying ''while he hasn't achieved the success we all would have wished for during his time as head coach, he leaves with our gratitude for his service to the game.''
Frawley said a review of the high-performance unit last season resulted in significant changes in the management structure of the Reds.
''At that time the board made the decision to reappoint Richard as head coach for a year, but we always said there would be periods within the 2016 Super Rugby season where we would take stock of how the team was performing,'' he said. ''We believe, through our high-performance review process, we have implemented the necessary changes to support both interim head coaches during the 2016 season and whoever takes on the head coach role in 2017.''
Graham said he was disappointed but understood the decision.
''I am in a high-performance environment and the results haven't been to a satisfactory standard,'' he said in a statement. ''I have to accept that and move on."
O'Conner joined the Reds as attack coach this season after seven years working in Europe, most recently at Leinster. Stiles has been forwards coach at the Reds since 2014.
The Reds, in last place in the Australian conference, travel to Melbourne to play the Rebels on Saturday night.
