'Caught us off guard': Broncos players left 'devastated' after shock Kevin Walters exit

Adam Reynolds admits the Broncos playing group were "caught off guard" after the decision to part ways with head coach Kevin Walters.

In one of the biggest bombshells of the year, the club legend was axed from his role at Red Hill with two years to run on his contract.

Walters was a beloved figure in Brisbane, with captain Reynolds in particular a massive admirer of the coach and has been open about his close relationship.

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In an interview aired on Nine's Sunday Footy Show, the champion halfback opened up on the "devastated" reaction from the Broncos squad after the news broke last week.

"I'm still coming to terms with it," Reynolds said.

"It caught us off guard, we didn't understand at the time why anything had been done like that. A lot of boys respect and love Kev, he's very passionate and he wants to win.

"He's got the same mindset as a lot of us in the team and obviously we didn't get the results this year. By the reaction of the players and talking to them, everyone is devastated and everyone is feeling for Kev.

"I've had that conversation with Dave [Donaghy] and he apologised to the group for not letting us know before it did get out. It's very disappointing, there are a lot of players including myself who were not happy at the time when we heard the news.

"It's pretty hard when you lose someone so close to you."

The shock decision came just 12 months after Walters took the Broncos to a grand final, before they were beaten in heartbreaking fashion by the Panthers.

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Given the adversity the side faced throughout this season, Maroons coach Billy Slater believes the call was a "tough call" on Walters after a 12th-placed finish.

"It's hard to talk about it without knowing the findings of the review," he said.

"Looking at it from the perspective of what we see, this time last year Kevin Walters was preparing his team for a grand final and they were that close to winning.

"There's been some things that happened this year, they lost three really important players and didn't handle that overly well. There were some injuries to key personnel - Payne Haas, Adam Reynolds and Reece Walsh all only played half the season.

"That played a factor as well, so I think given those situations, it's a really tough call on Kev that he doesn't get an opportunity to get the team back on track."

Michael Maguire has emerged as the front-runner to take over next season, despite having another year to run on his deal as NSW Blues boss.

There has already been some backlash from Broncos old boys regarding Maguire's potential appointment, but Andrew Johns doesn't see any issue with it.

"He's $1.01 - he will get the job," he said.

"If hey win six in a row next year, do you reckon they care if Madge is from NSW?

"They couldn't care less."