Pay launched his coaching career in 2007, at the helm of
Dubbo CYMS who went on to claim the
Group 11 Rugby League premiership title. Pay coached CYMS again in 2008 before being named as the
Catalans Dragons' new assistant coach in 2009 under
Kevin Walters. In 2010, Pay started coaching the Melbourne Storm's under-20 side in the
NYC competition. A year later, Pay was named as the coach of
New South Wales in the inaugural under-20s
State of Origin match. During 2012 Pay signed as Parammatta Eels assistant coach for the
2013 NRL season under incoming head coach
Ricky Stuart. In 2014, Pay coached the NSW Under-20s to their third consecutive victory. In September 2017, Pay signed a two-year deal as Head Coach of the
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. On 7 May 2018, following a 22–20 loss to Brisbane, Pay was fined $25,000 by the NRL after saying the officiating during the game was "ridiculous" and "disgraceful". Pay went on to say "it's like we're not supposed to win". On 6 June 2018, Pay said to the media that he felt sorry for the supporters of the club after Canterbury suffered a humiliating 32–10 loss against the
Gold Coast Titans at
Belmore Sports Ground. The loss also confirmed it was Canterbury's worst start to a season since 1964. On 19 July 2018, Pay came under fire yet again when Canterbury were defeated by arch rivals Parramatta in what the media dubbed the "Spoon Bowl". Both sides came into the game sitting second last and last respectively. The match attracted only 8437 spectators which would turn out to be one of the lowest crowds of the year. Pay eventually guided Canterbury to a 12th-place finish. At one point the club had only won 4 of 18 matches but won 4 out of the final 6 matches to avoid the wooden spoon. In March 2019, Pay signed a 12-month contract extension to remain as Canterbury coach until the end of 2020. Canterbury had started the 2019 season suffering heavy defeats against the
New Zealand Warriors and arch rivals
Parramatta and there was speculation that Pay might be relieved of his duties. After signing the contract extension, Canterbury produced an upset victory over an in form
Wests Tigers outfit. By the midway part of the
2019 NRL season, Canterbury-Bankstown found themselves sitting last on the table and in real danger of finishing with the wooden spoon. However, for the third straight season, Canterbury achieved four upset victories in a row over
Penrith, the
Wests Tigers,
South Sydney and
Parramatta who were all competing for a place in the finals series and were higher on the table. Pay was credited with the late season revival as the side focused heavily on defence. On 14 July 2020, Pay quit as head coach of Canterbury-Bankstown. He left the club sitting bottom of the table with just one win after the first nine matches of the
2020 NRL season. ==References==