Blues assistant, ex-Eagle Ashley Hansen drops out of race for West Coast job
The search for the next senior coach of the Eagles has taken a twist, leaving a clear frontrunner to take the job at one of the AFL’s most powerful clubs.
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Highly-rated Carlton assistant coach Ashley Hansen has dropped out of the race for the Eagles’ senior coaching job.
The Herald Sun can reveal the former premiership Eagle has respectfully informed West Coast he does not want to be part of the selection process due to his family’s strong preference to remain in Victoria.
Hansen, who coached Footscray to the VFL premiership in 2016, is also keen to remain at Carlton where he is enjoying his role as senior assistant coach.
Hansen, 41, joined the Blues at the end of 2021 after nine years at Western Bulldogs and has told Carlton in recent days he is committed to helping drive the club towards team success alongside coach Michael Voss.
While he does have ambitions to be a senior coach, Hansen has made clear he wants to continue to build his coaching repertoire and skillset at Ikon Park.
Hansen has also said his decision to remain at Carlton is not linked to the Eagles’ list or the state of the club’s rebuild, but is guided by his family’s preference to stay in Melbourne.
It is a major blow for West Coast as Hansen was considered one of the strongest candidates to win the senior coaching job and replace Adam Simpson permanently.
But the Eagles will have to look elsewhere after a series of withdrawals in the process from leading candidates including Sydney’s Dean Cox, Port Adelaide’s Josh Carr, Fremantle’s Jaymie Graham and ex-Collingwood boss Nathan Buckley.
It leaves interim senior coach Jarrad Schofield as the frontrunner to keep the job after leading the young Eagles to back-to-back wins over Gold Coast and North Melbourne over the past two weeks.
Schofield has said he is enjoying the senior coaching duties but the club is facing a significant rebuild to help lead the club up the ladder in coming years.
GWS Giants’ assistant coach Brett Montgomery, who is highly-rated as a strong tactician, is also in the mix, along with Collingwood assistant Scott Selwood.
But Schofield will have a golden chance to continue to impress in the role over the next two weeks in tough games against Carlton and Geelong.
The Eagles are also set to lose gun defender Tom Barrass to Hawthorn in this year’s trade period in exchange for at least one first-round draft pick.
The Hawks rise to eighth spot means the Eagles’ first pick is No. 11, which may not be enough to satisfy the Eagles on its own for Barrass.
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