Long-serving Baxter signs new Exeter contract

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter - the Prem's longest-serving boss - has signed a new contract.

The 55-year-old has agreed a "multi-year" deal to stay at Sandy Park. Both the club and Baxter have not disclosed the length of his new contract.

Baxter took the helm at Exeter in 2009 and led the club to promotion from the Championship into the top flight for the first time in 2010.

He has been in charge for Exeter's entire history as a Prem side - the Chiefs won the English title in 2017 and 2020 and were crowned European champions in 2020.

Between 2016 and 2021 Exeter reached every Premiership final, but have not been to Twickenham since.

"It's very exciting, very pleasing, particularly because I can you can see where we look like we're potentially heading as a team and as a club," Baxter told BBC Sport.

"Things are looking very positive for us at the moment, players are a good age range, the majority are here next year already, we've got quite a lot of contract stuff done and are not losing too many guys.

"We're doing quite well on the field as regards where we are in competitions and when you keep players together and teams together who are achieving that often you can start to build year by year for quite a period of time."

Exeter chairman and chief executive Tony Rowe - who appointed Baxter to take over after the sacking of Pete Drewett in 2009 - is proud of the commitment his director of rugby has shown to the club.

"Rob has been front and centre of the growth of this club having helped build its foundations as a player," Rowe said.

"He is an Exeter Chiefs man through and through and has led us through some of our most memorable moments.

"He has also built a new coaching team and a young squad that are already keen and able to compete at the top level.

"It will be exciting to see where he can take them in the next few years."

Last season the Chiefs finished in a historic low second-from-bottom, winning just four league games and suffering the heaviest defeat in the club's history.

It led to many of the coaches who had been with Baxter for much of his time at the club - such as Ali Hepher, Rob Hunter and Ricky Pellow - moving on.

Baxter is the only member of the title-winning staff left - with Dave Walder is now leading the attack, Ross McMillan in charge of forwards and Haydn thomas taking control of defence.

This season with a new-look coaching team and new signings such as Len Ikitau, Stephen Varney, Andrea Zambonin and Tom Hooper, Exeter have enjoyed a resurgence.

They are currently fourth in the Prem, seven points off leaders Northampton and seven points above fifth-placed Bristol.

They are through to the knockout stages of the European Challenge Cup, hosting Munster this weekend, while Exeter reached the final of the Prem Rugby Cup, where they lost at Leicester.

it has been five years since Exeter last mafe a Prem final, having made each one between 2016 and 2021.

Baxter hopes his new-look side, both on and off the field, can propel the Chiefs back to the play-offs in 2026.

"Recent history on teams getting back-to-back finals, back-to-back wins, suggests it's harder or it's tougher now," he said.

"It's been quite a while now since there's been the same teams in finals, back-to-back same winners.

"I think what you can say is that you should I think be able to build towards an expectation you'll be in and around the top four or competitive towards the top four on a regular basis.

"I would like to think that that's something we could certainly talk about striving towards and then that brings with it that you're going to be regularly in the Champions Cup and you can learn things from that as you go along.

"Those the kind of things I would like to say we could see in our future on a regular basis."

Baxter's near 17 years in the role is a year more than Saracens boss Mark McCall, who will stand down at the end of the current season.

It means next term Baxter's tenure will be almost double of the next longest-serving director of rugby - Bristol's Pat Lam who has been in charge at Ashton Gate since June 2017.

"I never really took the job initially to be what you call a career coach," he said.

"I never took the job and went 'oh, a couple of years of this that would be a good experience', and then I can think of moving here, moving there, trying different thing, that was never really my aim from day one.

"My aim from day one was I was enjoying coaching at the same time as I was finishing my playing career.

"I always enjoyed doing it and it had its benefits as well and that it just slowly evolved.

"At no stage do I think I ever did it just purely as a job and a step in the next direction, I've just done it as well as I can, day by day and that's all I focus on is just doing a good job day by day and trying to keep the future progressive for myself and for the club and for the team and that's all we've done."