Mark Duffield: The latest on West Coast’s search for a new coach as short list takes shape

West Coast is set to begin talks with its list of coaching candidates this week. MARK DUFFIELD takes you inside the process – and what might be putting a few off.

West Coast is set to step up its search for a senior coach later this week when it reaches out to the managers of coaching prospects and asks them for expressions of interest in the job.

Speculation might be swirling that Port Adelaide’s Ken Hinkley is in prime position for the job – or, for that matter, speculation had already swirled and died on the assumption that former club great Dean Cox was the favourite before he ruled himself out last week.

But the reality is that the Eagles – and the managers they are expected to be contacting – both insist there has been no action or interaction as yet.

The Eagles are understood to have formed a list of people they are interested in talking to. Now they want to start talking to them.

“We are getting ready to really get cracking on that. We have done our prelim work and now we are looking to start that up,” CEO Don Pyke said on Monday.

“I don’t really want to go into the detail. I don’t want to provide ongoing commentary on it or on who we are looking at.”

“The speculation has already started clearly. I am mindful of being respectful to those who we may contact or we may engage in conversations with.”

“There are a number of potential candidates out there.”

Adam Simpson acknowledging Eagles fans before the clash with Brisbane. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

He said there were “possibly” candidates who may still be involved in the AFL season come finals time.

The club had also wanted to give people who might be interested in the job a couple of weeks to consider how serious they were after the departure of Adam Simpson.

“Those who might be thinking about it will hopefully have thought about it and now it is time to start to reach out to come people who we think it would be interesting to talk to,” Pyke said..”

“And I don’t know that number yet (how many candidates). We are still working through that.”

“It will be what it will be. We are mindful of timing. There are finals and there will be possible involvement in those.

“We have got a little bit of time but we don’t want to use all of that time. We want to be proactive and find the right person through the right process.”

The withdrawal of Cox from the race is significant because it is a reminder of the situation that West Coast find themselves in.

Normally a candidate serious about being a senior coach would chase a job when and where it is available. More so when the club is as well resourced as West Coast, more so again when the club is the one you played 290 games for and won a flag with.

But first-time coaches only get one shot at making it work. There is a feeling that with the Eagles list as it is, the one shot there might be a long shot – even for a club legend.

Former Eagle and current Carlton assistant Ash Hansen. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

It will be interesting to see how other former Eagles view it. Ash Hansen is well regarded, has coached successfully in his own right in the VFL at Footscray and is coaching as an assistant at a well-performed team in Carlton.

Jaymie Graham is at Fremantle, is equally well regarded in the industry and has also coached successfully, taking East Perth into WAFL finals before joining the Eagles coaching panel.

Collingwood assistant Scott Selwood, a past West Coast best-and-fairest winner, has been at Collingwood since 2019 in a variety of roles and has impressed the Magpies with his work in the coaches box – although some question whether his five-year coaching resume stacks up with those with longer coaching experience.

And there are others. Former Western Bulldog Daniel Giansiracusa has been a leading contender in other coaching selection processes.

Port Adelaide assistant Josh Carr, a former Docker with a not-always-friendly on-field association with West Coast, is a potential applicant whose availability may depend on what happens with Hinkley in the senior role.

But on Monday, Carr made it clear he was “here to stay in Adelaide”.

The reason why some view Hinkley as a good candidate is that he is 12 years into a coaching career, has seen preliminary final action more than once and may be prepared to “jump on the grenade” and do some of the hard yards in a rebuild without being concerned that he might be blowing up his one chance of being a senior coach.

Having lived and worked in a two team town fishbowl, Hinkley will also be familiar with the fierce focus that comes on West Coast.

But, at this point, he is still employed at another club and, at this point, that club is in the top eight and a chance to play finals.

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos

Normally young coaches would jump at the chance to coach at a club with West Coast’s resources.

But the quality of the list is a factor.

When Simpson took the role over from John Worsfold, the Eagles had just completed a nine-win season with a percentage of 95 and had Nic Naitanui, Jeremy McGovern, Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff, Jack Darling, Josh Kennedy, Shannon Hurn, Jamie Cripps and Mark Lecras all at the club with Elliot Yeo arriving from Brisbane.

The current Eagles list has won eight games in almost three seasons.

They have a percentage of 68 this year and that is an improvement on last year.

The stars Simpson inherited are either finished or close to finishing.

Harley Reid aside, the next generation is not yet clear, just like the field of potential candidates for Pyke to talk to.

Originally published as Mark Duffield: The latest on West Coast’s search for a new coach as short list takes shape