Parramatta chief executive Bob Bentley has confirmed NSW coach Ricky Stuart is part of the club's shopping list as the Eels begin the search for Stephen Kearney's successor.
Kearney confirmed on Friday he was quitting the club with more than a year still to run on his contract, after managing just nine wins in 41 games at the helm.
The 40-year-old will remain in charge of the Eels for Saturday night's clash with Melbourne and could even see out the remainder of the season, before focusing on his role as New Zealand's Test coach.
The Eels' focus will now switch to who they can get to replace Kearney, with Stuart said to be their No.1 target.
Bentley said the club had yet to speak to any potential candidates but conceded the Blues boss is an option.
"He'd be one of the ones on our shopping list," Bentley told reporters.
"Ricky's got a decision to make around Origin first ... I'm not sure whether or not he's available to coach at NRL level.
"What we'll do now is commence the recruitment process to fulfil the position for next year.
"We want to be able to search far and wide to find the most suitable coach."
Stuart is keen to get back into club coaching and has also been linked with Canberra and the Sydney Roosters.
Former Eels and current Roosters under-20 boss Jason Taylor is also seen as a possible candidate, with former St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown and Newcastle assistant Rick Stone.
Bentley denied Kearney had been pushed out by the club's board and said he hoped he would see out the last seven games of the season.
While Kearney's replacement will be the Eels' sixth head coach in the past six years, Bentley scoffed at suggestions the club had become the basket-case of the NRL.
"Whilst our performances on the field haven't been up to standard, we're not far away as a team from winning a few more games," he said.
"I think you'll see improvement from now on.
"There's a lot of junior work in the academy and structures that have been put in place that's pretty good for the future."
Kearney said he would put more focus now into his role with the New Zealand Rugby League, with the possibility of turning his part-time job into a full-time position.
"It's a big 18 months for New Zealand rugby league in which we want to defend our World Cup," he said.
"There's been some real progress in our game back home and I also need to convince some Kiwis to play for New Zealand.
"That requires energy and time and that's potentially a full-time role I'm very passionate about."
Eels skipper Nathan Hindmarsh, who will retire at the end of the season after 15 years at the club, said the way his final year had panned out was disappointing but he has no doubts there is a bright future ahead.
"This is a great club, it always will be and we've got great fans out there," Hindmarsh said.
"I don't fear for the future of club. We've got great young guys coming through, we've got a great pick of juniors so even though we're not sitting that great at the moment, the future's looking bright.
"Steve's done a lot of hard work to get things back where they used to be and he'll leave here knowing he's put some good things in place."
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