So the RFU want an Englishman to replace Eddie Jones. Good. They should go the whole hog and make it an all-English coaching team – starting by making Shaun Edwards a serious offer at long last.
It's too late for this World Cup cycle. The medal-laden former Great Britain rugby league captain is committed to France until 2023, when he will seek to help the hosts win their home World Cup.
His short-term ambitions lie across the Channel, but if they have any sense, the RFU will make it clear to him now that they want him when the next global showpiece is over.
Serious questions are being asked about Eddie Jones' future after a disappointing Six Nations
Such is Edwards' winning habit, the powers-that-be at Twickenham would be well advised to get him lined up at the earliest opportunity, then build a new management structure around him.
That is not how it normally works. Normally, the head coach is installed and he is able to choose his own side-kicks, but Edwards is a unique, special case. Every team he is involved with enjoys success. He is the common denominator. The RFU must pay whatever it takes for that magic touch.
Last week, union chief executive Bill Sweeney was asked about Edwards, in the context of discussions about succession planning.
Reflecting on the fact that the cross-code icon had been allowed to work for two other countries, he said: 'I did actually meet him 18 months ago. We went for a walk down the river from Teddington to Richmond.
France's medal-laden defence coach Shaun Edwards should be top of the RFU's list to bring in
'I just wanted to hear his story. I said, 'Have we ever approached you'. He said, 'Someone called me, but it wasn't a serious call and wasn't followed up – and I quite liked the idea of going abroad and doing something different'. Did we miss him there? Possibly. He's done very well there (in France) and we certainly know who he is.'
Everyone knows who he is. Edwards is a title accumulator without equal, so the RFU should make him their first signing for the post-Jones, post-World Cup era. Then they can assemble an array of English coaching talent around him. There is plenty of it these days, so it makes sense to use it.
Just to be clear, this is not a revisionist condemnation of the decision to appoint Jones in 2015. He was the right man and the fact that he was a foreign candidate was no reason to overlook his ideal credentials.
But the union's preference for a home-grown replacement should be welcomed, as appointing from within is evidence of a healthy, sustainable system. The ultimate target should be to set up a 'boot-room' culture which continually promotes new No 1s from the established assistants.
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney has said that he met with Edwards around 18 months ago
If the RFU want a new head coach lined up before the World Cup, Steve Borthwick would fit the bill as a supreme technician with a forensic eye for detail, but Rob Baxter possesses more statesmanlike qualities – if he can be lured out of Devon. Richard Cockerill is already in the set-up as forwards coach and would bring endless native passion to the job.
The task for Sweeney and the governing body is to promote a plan for a high-powered set-up with several proven coaches working together. It will need major investment, but they have never shied away from that.
The RFU should seek to assemble a heavyweight English line-up to run the Red Rose operation. Not all the best oval-ball masterminds have an Antipodean accent.
Any recruitment debate will surely feature others such as Alex Sanderson, George Skivington and Sam Vesty. The RFU should also sound out Stuart Lancaster about his long-term intentions, given his acclaimed impact at Leinster.
But England's coaching future
