Kidwell was appointed as Kiwis coach after Stephen Kearney joined the Warriors at the end of 2016.

But his reign has been a dismal failure, with New Zealand failing to retain the Four Nations title and then getting knocked out in the quarter-finals of the 2017 World Cup.

Under the 40-year-old Jason Taumalolo defected to Tonga and the Kiwis were upset by Tonga and Fiji, and drew with Scotland.

Kidwell won only three of his 10 Tests in charge of New Zealand.

According to NRL.com, he will not be seeking reappointment after his contract expired in February.

Former NRL coaches such as Michael Maguire, Geoff Toovey, Des Hasler, Brian Smith and Neil Henry are likely candidates for the position.