Who could take over as Carlton coach if the Blues sack Michael Voss?
Carlton hasn’t pulled the trigger on sacking Michael Voss, but Jon Ralph has trawled through the options to see what path the Blues can take – and who the Blues could target if they sack him.
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The problem for Michael Voss as he coaches for his AFL career – again – is that Graham Wright is spoilt for choice.
Voss will be given until the end of the season to coach his way out of the hole Carlton has dug itself.
It doesn’t matter when incoming CEO Wright officially takes over from Brian Cook because he has lived this season alongside the football department from its first steps in late 2024.
He has observed from the coaches box often, he has sat in on every key meeting of the football department and he will have made judgments about Voss and his assistant coaches.
Now as the season unfolds he has three options he can take.
Two of them involve sacking Michael Voss (one of the scorched-earth variety) and the other one moving on many of the assistants around him.
So Wright is about to roll up the sleeves either way.
But if Wright is presented with enough evidence that he should move on his senior coach, he has premiership coaches in waiting and a long list of budding assistant coaches ready to step up.
Here are the Blues’ three options.
BACK IN VOSS, CHANGE EVERYTHING ELSE
Everyone at Carlton knows they are on notice.
The coach can’t get his stars playing with passion or implementing the mid-forward connection that has been the club’s achilles heel.
The skill acquisition has been ordinary and the assistant coaches Ash Hansen, Tim Clarke and Aaron Hamill are contracted but aware they share blame for the 6-8 win-loss record.
But as the AFLCA lobbies for greater payouts for contracted assistant coaches than three months, those contacts will not keep them safe.
So the least dramatic coaching shake-up is to keep Voss and seek fresh ideas.
The irony is that Clarke and Hamill are well-regarded and Hansen is seen as one of footy’s best and brightest coaching minds.
Football boss Brad Lloyd was backed in to implement the changes demanded from a 2021 football review but would be aware his job will be scrutinised by Wright again this year.
SACK VOSS AND SHOOT FOR THE STARS
Wright would be derelict in his duty if someone connected to him doesn’t ask John Longmire what he is doing next year before he makes a decision on Voss.
It shouldn’t be Wright – he will need deniability if he keeps his coach – but the second option is to move on Voss and bring in a senior coach who smacks of experience and success.
Longmire shapes as the obvious choice but clearly would need to have re-established the fire in the belly.
That coach would likely choose their entire assistant coaching panel.
Wright will have to find out if a Longmire type is attainable and if so he would be aware the comparison in records is stark.
Longmire played finals in 12 of his 14 completed seasons and won finals in eight of them.
The question is if not Longmire, then who else?
Adam Simpson isn’t interested in Tasmania and while he might be keen on the Blues, Wright would have to decide if he is an upgrade.
Having sacked Nathan Buckley at Collingwood, Wright would seem long odds to hire him at Carlton.
But for all its faults this Carlton list is stacked with stars, is in the right age demographic and would be seen as hugely attractive for a senior coach in waiting.
GO THE CRAIG MCRAE ROUTE
Voss famously finished behind Craig McRae and Adam Kingsley when the Pies chose their Nathan Buckley replacement.
It is seen as an indication Wright doesn’t rate Voss, but he was in the final four of 92 initial candidates.
Wright could decide that this Carlton list needs recalibration under a first-time senior coach.
He could sack Voss, decide to trade a Harry McKay type and let Tom De Koning go, then give the keys to the city to any of the long list of elite assistant coaches.
That coach would have some time to rejig the list demographic and game style but ideally bounce quickly like McRae did at Collingwood.
It might be a harder sell for Wright to sack an AFL legend for someone like Collingwood’s Hayden Skipworth, Hawthorn’s David Hale or Geelong’s Steven King.
But he could use the McRae example as a selling point to Carlton fans.
And the list of potential applicants is never-ending.
SENIOR COACHES IN WAITING
HAYDEN SKIPWORTH (COLLINGWOOD)
Skipworth was one of the last three in the West Coast coaching search and continues to win plaudits for his work coaching the Pies midfield brigade, having arrived at the club in 2020 in a period where Wright was still at the club.
STEVEN KING (GEELONG)
King took over as Gold Coast interim coach for a period before Damien Hardwick’s appointment and continues to win plaudits as part of Geelong’s streamlined coaching panel after moving to the club in late 2023.
He lost no admirers as one of the last three in the Eagles coaching race after two years as the senior assistant on the Gold Coast and a full decade as an assistant the Western Bulldogs.
DANNY DALY (BRISBANE)
Daly has been Chris Fagan’s right-hand man for his Lions stint, graduating to football boss but also working on strategy. He declined Collingwood’s offer to be their football boss last year but like Fagan himself could easily make the jump from football boss to elite senior coach. Hugely popular and a unifier of people across an entire club.
ASH HANSEN (CARLTON)
The West Coast premiership player and 2016 VFL premiership coach has worked his way up the list of in-demand assistant coaches but declined the Eagles’ overtures last year due to a young family and his desire to continue learning at Carlton. Good judges are confident he will be a senior coach one day.
JOHN LONGMIRE (SYDNEY)
Longmire stepped down as Sydney coach last year, admitting he was totally cooked after 333 games of senior coaching. He has business interests in Sydney and his family is well entrenched in NSW. But while he said recently of rival interest that “I only just stopped (coaching)” the Blues role might be a chance to secure that second elusive flag.
ADAM SIMPSON (WEST COAST)
West Coast premiership player Simpson recently said he was not interested in the Tasmanian coaching role given it would take so much work and pain as a start-up club.
But while he is expanding his business interests in WA, the Blues would be crazy not to gauge his interest if looking for a Voss replacement.
DANIEL GIANSIRACUSA (ESSENDON)
One of three finalists for the North Melbourne job in 2020 that went to David Noble with the Essendon assistant the AFLCA assistant coach of the year in 2020.
He has been the Dons midfield coach since 2023.
ROBERT HARVEY (COLLINGWOOD)
The long-time Pies senior assistant has narrowly missed several senior coaching gigs and has now moved back to St Kilda under Ross Lyon. He was narrowly overlooked for Scott Watters when Lyon first left the Saints then missed out to David Noble in 2000 at the Roos.
BRETT MONTGOMERY (GWS)
Montgomery is in charge of the elite GWS defence and also coaches team defence and was approached by the Eagles to be part of their coaching search last year.
They were keen on an assistant with strong skill development, but that job eventually went to Andrew McQualter.
ADRIAN HICKMOTT (HAWTHORN)
The West Coast backline and midfield coach has taken the step towards senior coaching with big plaudits from coach Sam Mitchell at Hawthorn given his strong relationships and innovative methods. Mitchell says his forward line coach would be a “fantastic” senior coach.
TROY CHAPLIN (MELBOURNE)
Chaplin has emerged as one of football’s best defensive coaches taking charge of the Demons backline in the premiership era before this year moving to coach the forward line and team offence. A strong communicator and relationship builder, he is ready to coach his own team.
OTHER BUDDING SENIOR COACHES: David Hale (Hawthorn), Jaymie Graham (Fremantle), Shaun Grigg (Gold Coast), Chris Newman (Richmond)
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