For most, the early days of January are a time of reflection and self-improvement. Putting the last 12 months behind and looking ahead to the next.
For Mark Jones, the hope is that the new year promises more than the last one delivered. Last year saw Jones lose his job at Worcester Warriors following the Sixways club's abrupt financial collapse, bringing the latest step in an increasingly varied and impressive coaching CV to a sudden end.
The news that the former Wales winger is one of the candidates to be Warren Gatland's attack coach following his return to take charge of the national team would certainly suggest that he won't be out of work for long. Indeed, 2023 might soon offer more than the last year.
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However, as things stand, there's been nothing on the table from the Welsh Rugby Union, despite the name of Jones, who previously helped out with Wales' attack in 2013, understood to be on a shortlist alongside Rob Howley and Alex King.
"Listen, your name always gets chucked around with things like this," Jones told WalesOnline. "But I haven't been offered anything by Gats.
"I'm happy to say that. Gats is speaking to a lot of people and I'm sure he's clear with what he wants. I haven't had huge conversations with Gats.
"I always exchanged a few texts with him while I was with the Crusaders. The last time I had a huge face-to-face with him was when we came up against him at the Chiefs. I'm sure there'll be a chance to catch up with him now he's back in Wales.
"But I haven't been offered anything. There's been no contract put in front of me, unfortunately. Otherwise I wouldn't be painting the bathroom!"
2022 isn't a year that will be remembered fondly for anyone involved with Worcester, including Jones. Suddenly, the 43-year-old from Builth Wells, who had been working as the attack coach at Sixways after starting on the defensive side of the game, was in the unenviable boat of being out of a job.
"Since the whole Worcester thing became apparent, it's been quite tough to be honest with you," he added. "2022 was horrible from the unknown perspective.
"We had two or three months of not knowing what's going on, then we did know what was going on. Since then, it's been a case of filling your time and waiting for the next opportunity.
"It comes with the territory, hiring and firing, in sport. But it usually doesn't come this way. Normally you've either done well and another team wants you, or you've done poorly and the team wants to get rid of you. But the team collapsing doesn't often happen."
Leaving jobs in 'normal' circumstances has been something of a rarity in recent years. His last post in charge of Super Rugby giants Crusaders' defence came to an end after a year when it became apparent the mid Walian wouldn't be able to return to New Zealand with his family to resume his duties amid the Covid pandemic.
"I wouldn't use the word depressed, but we were so disappointed we couldn't get back out to New Zealand," he said. "That wasn't easy, getting the whole family across to the other side of the world and upheaving your life in the space of five weeks.
"It was a big move, especially with Covid hitting while we were over there, but by the time we came home for Christmas, we were really settled. The kids were flying and Helen was really enjoying herself over there.
"So to not get back out there was a nightmare. It is what it is and the Crusaders were really good. I tried my best to get out there, but there was no guarantee the family would be able to come after.
"I wasn't going to take that risk. It's tough, but I was lucky to pick something up in Worcester. Unfortunately, that's ended on a sour note."
Thousands and thousands of words have already been committed to print on the unfortunate demise of Worcester. Along with Wasps, the financial plight of two professional clubs reverberated around the sport - particularly here in Wales where money is a constant talking point.
Worcester's fate was finally confirmed at the start of October, when contracts were terminated and the club were expelled from the Gallagher Premiership. Prior to that, everyone had assumed that things would turn out ok; that, as Jones puts it, "there would be a white knight to save the day".
"I think the biggest warning sign was when we were paid a couple of days later early on in the season," added Jones. "That hadn't happened before.
"The club sent an email around saying it was an admin issue and because it was the off-season, they'd had to move some funds around and it's taking a bit longer to move them into the account. I think it was a bank holiday, so you think fair enough.
"But when you start hearing it might be late the next month, people start asking questions. Nobody envisioned it was as bad as it was. We just thought it was a cashflow problem caused by Covid.
"It was tough. It's an interesting situation because you're asking the players to put their bodies on the line. As a coach, you get paid the same, you work long hours and the stress is through the roof as you work Monday to Friday and only really contribute to the result at half-time on Saturday.
"But the players are going out there and being asked to go into 20 or 30 car crashes a game. If there's question marks about payment or insurance, it can have a big psychological effect on the group. And it did have a big effect.
"Trying to align that as a coaching group was tough."
Perhaps, in a slight blessing, Jones hadn't moved his family across to Worcester before things went south. Returning from New Zealand, he wanted his kids to be surrounded by familiar faces - leaving him to commute from Neath to Worcester on a daily basis.
Later down the line, he'd have likely headed across to the Midlands, but that opportunity never came. Having previously commuted to north Wales during his time with RGC, the next job would hopefully involve less time spent in the car.
Straight away, once Worcester's fate had been decided, the mindset switched to what was next for Jones. For the 47-cap international, who has also coached at the Scarlets, Rotherham and Namibia, the glass is always more than half full.
Little energy has been spent worrying about what has happened. Instead, the focus is on what's to come. "You start looking at the immediate things you can do, as there's no salary coming in next month. I went into that mode, rather than worrying what happened. I'm probably in that mindset now."
Some of that newfound free time has been spent doing commentary work on the four Welsh sides. He's been impressed with what he's seen in recent weeks on that front.
There is also still plenty of interest. Few could claim to have had both Wales and England interested in them, but Jones is part of that exclusive club.
Eddie Jones was reportedly interested in hiring Jones as his defence coach back in 2021 following the departure of John Mitchell. Jones describes it as one of those things, adding that there had been "enquiries from England in the past on more than one occasion."
"Timing is everything, isn't it? You try and make the best decision at the time," he added.
"Eddie was keen to find out a bit more. But to be fair, Worcester gave me that opportunity after New Zealand so there was loyalty to be repaid there. I'm glad I stayed there even though it ended like it did. It was still the right thing to do.
"I'd never say I wouldn't coach England as it's one of the best jobs in the world. But it makes it a bit tricky as I'm a passionate Welshman. I spent my career trying to smash them so it'd be a mindset shift.
"I had conversations at different times over the potential of different jobs coming up. They've got to a certain point and then they didn't happen. You just move on from it."
Still, Jones considers himself lucky that people think he can add value. He admits he hates not working, but he's keen to find the right gig before stepping back into the world of coaching.
Finding the right environment is high up on the list, as is not unsettling his family too much - with one child about to start their GSCEs. The next job will hopefully be a long-term project that he can get his teeth stuck into.
"There's a bit going into the decision-making process," he admits. "I'm not saying I've got the luxury of turning every job down, but I want to make sure I'm doing right by the group and go somewhere I can make a difference, not going into somewhere just because I need a job.
"Hopefully I'll get back into something, whatever that will be. I've no clarity around that at the moment, but it'll be good to have something to rip into in 2023."
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