AFLCA confident attitudes will change towards second-time coaches

Michael Voss was appointed Brisbane coach at 33 and was sacked by 38. The boss of the AFL coaches union thinks the time is coming where the industry moves back towards older, more-experienced mentors.

Michael Voss with Port Adelaide senior coach Ken Hinkley. Picture: Getty Images

Michael Voss finds it ­monotonous when he keeps being asked about coaching.

He wants to be a senior coach again, no doubt, but he is not sure he will be unless there is a significant shift in attitude in the AFL industry.

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He’s not going to say that publicly, so when he’s asked, he dances around his circumstance.

And his circumstance is unique.

A legendary footballer, he was appointed coach of Brisbane Lions in 2008. He was 33.

By 38, he was sacked.

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At the end of 2014, he joined Ken Hinkley at Port Adelaide and is currently Hinkley’s ­senior assistant. He is now 43.

In the next couple of years he will have a decision to make — remain in football and hope the industry matures around “second-time’’ coaches, return to the media or embark on a new career to close out his working life.

It’s a decision Voss is ­already thinking about.

Industry people say the AFL has to mature and consider previous coaches for ­future senior positions.

They include Voss, Brett Ratten, who is currently at St Kilda, and Matthew Knights, now at Geelong.

Michael Voss in his role as an assistance coach at Port Adelaide. Picture: Sarah Reed

“Our sport is following the northern hemisphere in many areas and I think coaching is going to be one of them,” AFL Coaches’ Association boss Mark Brayshaw said.

“There’s no doubt coaches in the professional leagues, in the US in particular, are much older than our coaches and (coaches in their) 30s or early 40s is the exception up there.

“A lot of those clubs are owned by individuals and seem to respect experience and ­failure, pick yourself up and learn and all that.

“They respect that more than we do down here.

“So I have absolutely no doubt coaches such as Michael Voss, Brett Ratten and others would be a lot better, a lot more experienced and a lot more capable the second-time round.

“My hunch is boards of AFL footy clubs will become less ill at ease at giving a coach a second chance.”

Michael Voss enjoys a win as Brisbane coach with former teammate Jonathan Brown. Picture: Peter Wallis

After a series of appointments of coaches aged in their 30s, including Voss, James Hird, Nathan Buckley and the Scott twins, there was a shift in thinking.

St Kilda coach Alan Richardson was appointed at 48 and Brisbane coach Chris Fagan at 55.

“Other than our sporting endeavours, we all get better as we get older,” Brayshaw said.

“But one size doesn't fit all.

“Stuey Dew is doing a great job as a young coach; Chris Scott won the flag in his first year and he was a young coach; Adam Simpson is relatively young and has done a titanic job.

“So, I’m talking about a trend, not a rule.

“I look at the successful coaches in the northern hemisphere and they seem to be a hell of a lot older than our guys, and they also in many cases have been in other jobs, got the flick basically, and they’ve picked themselves up.”

Originally published as AFLCA confident attitudes will change towards second-time coaches