Canterbury are set to part ways with club great Andrew Farrar and three other senior officials in a significant overhaul of Dean Pay's football department.
Team manager Farrar, head of football Gareth Holmes, recruitment manager Warren McDonnell and pathways performance manager Andy Patmore make up a high-profile quartet of Bulldogs staff told their services won't be required going forward.
NRL.com understands the Bulldogs have undertaken a review of the club's off-field operations and identified the club's structures around signing and developing young talent as a key area of improvement.
The shake-up follows on from Pay's one-year extension a month ago, and is the most significant since the election of a new board chaired by Lynne Anderson.
Pay’s first season in charge of the Bulldogs in 2018 was largely spent restructuring the salary cap and playing roster he inherited from previous coach Des Hasler.
The club is now focused on refreshing its football operations.
It's understood that the exits of Farrar, Holmes, McDonnell and Patmore are still being worked through, despite news breaking just hours before Canterbury's round eight grudge match with Hasler's Manly outfit.
The Bulldogs declined to comment specifically on the changes at hand, though CEO Andrew Hill did confirm the ongoing review of Canterbury's football department.
“We refreshed our strategic plan last year,” Hill said in a statement provided to media.
“At the end of last season we added a number of new positions to the football operations - Steve Jones as skills coach; Yvette Davey to work with players and their families, Tony Ayoub as our physical performance manager and Dr Dave Givney as the new head of medical.
“We’re now looking at our football operations. It would be inappropriate and unfair of me to make any comment on those discussions at this stage.”
Farrar's departure ends a significant association with the 'family club'.
A three-time premiership-winner during the 80s, Farrar played 186 games for the Bulldogs and also served on the club's board before returning to the club as team manager.
Holmes' exit also comes as a surprise less than a year after he arrived from Manly, a celebrated signing at the time given his reputation as a quality operator as the Australian Test team manager.
Patmore is the current NSW women's Origin coach having filled several different development roles over the years at Belmore, while McDonnell joined the club in 2016 from Wests Tigers.
The Bulldogs' retention and recruitment has been hampered in recent years by a series of back-ended deals negotiated during Hasler's tenure.
The club has previously said it will take until 2021 for its salary cap position to recover and allow the Bulldogs to chase marquee names.
Big name player departees in recent years include James Graham, Josh Reynolds, Moses Mbye, David Klemmer, Aaron Woods and the Morris brothers Brett and Josh.
