Mick Malthouse: The candidates who can handle the pressure of coaching Collingwood

Mick Malthouse knows what it takes to coach Collingwood - it’s not a role for everyone. These are his important reminders for the selection panel - and his recommendations.

Who should be Collingwood’s next coach?

Do your homework.

Three dreaded words for teenagers everywhere, but an important message for any football club looking for a new coach.

It’s inevitable after the first coach sacking of the season that there will be a rush to push the big names. But there is so much more to explore than superficial attributes.

Substance for one.

What makes this person tick? How do they communicate with people, from the stars to the 44th squad member, to the football club staff and volunteers? How do they develop people around them, the young players and assistant coaches? What do they stand for?

And when it comes to Collingwood, arguably the biggest sporting club in the land, there are higher stakes and more pitfalls to be considered for an incoming leader.

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Mick Malthouse, left, with Darren Jolly, Nick Maxwell, Leigh Brown and Nathan Buckley after the 2011 grand final.

A dear friend of mine, and premiership teammate, text me on Wednesday suggesting that the Magpies need a fresh new coach, a first timer. My immediate reaction was, NO, not at Collingwood.

Nathan Buckley’s replacement will step into the challenge of a lifetime. The magnitude of the role is enormous.

I had coached for 16 years, and played for another 12, before I got the job at the Pies, and I still couldn’t believe the difference between Collingwood and other AFL clubs.

Collingwood is its own universe.

It is constantly in the limelight. There is no let up from the media wanting a view on everything. Its unique and varied supporters attract their own attention. It is the club everyone loves to hate.

It is not the club for a raw, inexperienced, fresh-faced coach who doesn’t understand the expectations of being a Collingwood person. They would be eaten alive.

This is where the Magpies’ coaching selection panel must complete its due diligence.

Talk to the former clubs of the candidate. I don’t know why there is such a reluctance to do so.

There is more than face value to be found by talking to past assistant coaches, players - not just the big names, but the kids too - administrators, volunteers, and teammates. They will give you a genuine sense of the person. What are their off-field behaviours and mannerisms, strengths and weaknesses like compared to on-field, or on show?

Talk to the unlikely sources. For such a massive appointment, the homework must be extreme and thorough.

So what does Collingwood need? It needs a former senior coach or a vastly experienced assistant coach.

Someone who has proven, or is proving, that they can coach successfully. There’s no tuning-in time at the Pies. I found that out very quickly. The pressure is applied immediately.

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Demons assistant coach Mark Williams with midfielder James Jordan at training. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

My No.1 candidate is Mark Williams.

A premiership coach at Port Adelaide and a former Collingwood captain, it’s a no-brainer.

He coached Port to seven finals campaigns in 11 years at the club, including two grand finals. As the Magpies’ on-field leader from 1983-86, he was a leading goal kicker and a multiple best-and-fairest winner.

He is having a massive impact at Melbourne, after doing the same at Richmond, and he helped steer the development of Greater Western Sydney in its infancy.

Collingwood people would love him. He’s gruff and a straight hitter. He could handle the media, the board, and the supporters. He knows football back to front. He has a proven record with players, getting them onside and achieving great results. He gets his hands dirty and loves competition. He has overcome his own health battles with success, which takes courage and drive. He loves the game.

Another out-of-the-box contender, but one who should be seriously considered, is Peter Sumich.

Sumich was John Worsfold’s right-hand-man in West Coast’s premiership year of 2006. He is a two-time premiership player, a leading goal kicker, former Fremantle assistant under Ross Lyon, and he has had recent success at state-level coaching the West Australian under-16 and under-18 teams.

Coming from a two-team town, he would be well rehearsed in dealing with the spotlight and pressure.

Is Sam Mitchell ready to coach the Pies? Picture: Michael Klein

A third option is Sam Mitchell.

He was an exceptional player at a successful club. That’s two ticks. But there are many questions that need to be asked, and I don’t have the answers. Collingwood will need to find them.

An assistant coach at West Coast, and now at Hawthorn in charge of the Box Hill Hawks, how does he go about developing young players? How does his playing ability transfer to coaching ability? Is his preferred role at Hawthorn?

Collingwood is in a transition period. Scott Pendlebury, Jeremy Howe, Jordan Roughead and Steele Sidebottom are all on the wrong side of 30. There is no doubting their abilities, more so their desire to continue.

We are still waiting for Brodie Grundy, Jordan De Goey and Darcy Moore to take over and become the backbone of the Pies, so it will be a rebuild. And that narrows the field of remaining contenders.

Would Alastair Clarkson want to leave a rebuild at Hawthorn to begin one at Collingwood? In his 17th season of coaching, would he want to jump from one hot seat to another? Rebuilds are hard work. For every step forward, you take a step back until you can establish that side. It takes time and you need full support from a patient board.

There are questions that need to be asked of Ross Lyon, too. Why did he leave St Kilda and Fremantle? He was criticised at the Dockers for being so defensive that the team didn’t function. Has he changed his methodology? Some Collingwood supporters are already voicing their displeasure with his game style, so is he suited to the Magpie psyche?

Michael Voss and Justin Leppitsch are interesting candidates. They are both better for their experience at senior and assistant coaching level.

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Scott Burns, left, with Nathan Buckley during his time as an assistant coach at the Magpies. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Voss seems the most eager to return to the fold. By his own admission he was too young and too raw when he coached the Lions for 43 wins from 109 games. But he has since served a great apprenticeship at Port Adelaide with a marvellous teacher in Ken Hinkley. And he is a fierce competitor.

Leppitsch stepped away from coaching for a reason. Was the pressure too great?

There is no breather as senior coach, you can’t even take an hour off. Is he prepared to take that on again?

Scott Burns. Former club captain and wonderful Collingwood player, he has served as assistant at multiple clubs, including the Pies, but why has he so far been overlooked for senior coach selection?

I have a feeling Chris Scott will be sounded out, but I also feel that he would prefer to stay at Geelong. A Victorian club outside Melbourne attracts far less attention and scrutiny than the other nine clubs.

Collingwood people hold Justin Longmuir in very high regard, but he is on the cusp of making Fremantle his own team so I imagine there would be a reluctance to move.

There is a prestige that comes with coaching, but greater than that is pressure.

There’s no more pressure than that of coaching Collingwood.

The Magpies needs to make the right choice here. That means taking their time and doing their homework.

Originally published as Mick Malthouse: The candidates who can handle the pressure of coaching Collingwood