Ryan Campbell steps up as Durham seal top-flight return
Durham are keeping their winning coach, just moving him upstairs. Ryan Campbell will leave his job as head coach of the men's team to become director of cricket and high performance coaching, BBC Sport reported on 28 September.
Campbell will succeed Marcus North in the director's role. North left Durham earlier this summer to become England's national selector.
It is a promotion built on results. Campbell has led Durham for four seasons. In that time the club has twice won Division Two of the County Championship, the domestic first-class competition split into a top tier and a second tier.
The second title came this summer. Durham went through the whole Division Two campaign unbeaten. That record takes them back into the top flight next year, where the leading counties play.
Durham will now look for a new head coach. Campbell will play an active part in choosing his successor.
That matters. A new voice will run day-to-day training and match days. Campbell will oversee the wider cricket operation instead.
For supporters, this means continuity. The man who built the squad stays. The ideas stay. Only the job title changes.
What makes this stand out is the timing. Coaches often leave after a promotion. Durham have done the opposite. They have locked in the architect and asked him to shape what comes next.
