Craig McRae set to win Collingwood coaching job after exhaustive process
Collingwood looks certain to appoint Craig McRae as its new senior coach with the Brisbane premiership player the last man standing in an exhaustive process.
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Collingwood looks certain to appoint Hawthorn assistant Craig McRae as its new senior coach with the Brisbane premiership player the last man standing in an exhaustive process.
A search which started with 90 names of senior coaching aspirants now looks set to see McRae tasked with starting the march to the club’s next premiership.
As revealed by the Herald Sun last week, McRae was the hottest of favourites with Tigers assistant coach Adam Kingsley the only other contender.
Last week, as Don Pyke pulled out of the race, it was down to only McRae and Kingsley, with the Pies impressed by his strong focus on relationships as well as tactical bent.
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Former North Melbourne senior coach Brad Scott has been urged to consider the role but the exhaustive workload and lack of any work-life balance is understood to have weighed heavily on his mind.
It means McRae will win that role and return to a club where he was the head of development for five seasons from 2011 before stints at Richmond as the VFL premiership coach before a year at the Hawks.
Collingwood football boss Graham Wright said last week the club wanted to make the decision on its senior coach within a fortnight but it would need to be ratified by the Pies board.
AFL coaching legend Leigh Matthews said recently the 47-year-old educator and relationships builder would be perfect for the role.
“I think ‘Fly’ (McRae) is a coach of the modern era in his general personality,” he said.
“The school teacher training is good training now for any kind of management type of role. If you’d asked me when ‘Fly’ was in his 20s would Fly be a senior coach one day, I would have said probably not.
“There’s about half a dozen players I could name before that. A lot of the things that make you an alpha male champion player are just things that are of no value -- they’re almost negatives -- when you become a senior coach.”
McRae played in 195 games for Brisbane and all three of their premierships from 2001-2003 before retiring after the 2004 season.
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Collingwood’s senior coach is expected to be chosen from either strong favourite Craig McRae or his former Richmond coaching colleague Adam Kingsley.
The Pies confirmed on Thursday there were still four candidates in the race for their vacant role, with football boss Graham Wright saying the club wanted to appoint a coach within two weeks.
News Corp believes current Hawks assistant McRae, strongly touted as the likely Pies coach, could only be knocked off by a late burst from Kingsley.
Kingsley has built a powerful resume at Richmond while McRae also has impressive credentials and made the move from Tigers VFL coach to Hawthorn last year.
Described by Brisbane premiership coach Leigh Matthews as a “coach for the modern era”, McRae is in pole position.
Lions premiership great Michael Voss is not seen to be in the race for the role despite a series of early interviews.
Wright said the club wanted to make an announcement by mid-September at the latest.
“We are certainly not there. We are still going through our processes and we have a number of guys in that process. We have been clear all the way through from a confidentiality perspective, we are respectful of those guys but also their clubs that we weren’t going to be making any public statements until we got the process and felt we had the right person.”
Justin Leppitsch will return to a football role in clubland next year and is keen on a role that might involve list management while also utilising his skills as a defensive coach.
Wright made clear Brayden Maynard, contracted to 2022, was happy at the club after double-checking with his management in recent days about his future at the Pies.
He told 3AW Mason Cox had not yet been offered a new deal, with the Pies waiting until they finalise their senior coach before clarifying his future.
He confirmed reports the Pies had some interest in Melbourne’s Sam Weideman, who remains low in the pecking order of Demons forwards and has not yet re-signed.
“He is an out of contract player so anyone who is out of contact, you are interested in them as to whether they can help your football club. He is a talented young forward.
“He was an early pick himself, whether he has got to the heights at Melbourne and, to be honest, he’s behind two or three performing well at the top of the ladder.”
When Pies will appoint Buckley successor
Collingwood is unlikely to announce its new coach until early to mid September.
In the wake of four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson officially ruling himself out of any senior coaching role in 2022, the Magpies will stick to their process timeline in the search for a long-term replacement for Nathan Buckley.
Collingwood’s players had their final exit interviews at the Holden Centre on Wednesday before heading off on their post-season break.
It is understood the Magpies’ five-man coaching subcommittee — premiership heroes Graham Wright and Luke Ball, board members Paul Licuria and Peter Murphy, and chief executive Mark Anderson — are yet to settle on a final decision.
Experienced assistant coach Craig McRae remains one of the favourites for the role, with his successful record of working with and developing young players considered one of his strengths.
Collingwood is keen to lock in a team of coaches around the senior appointment in order to best serve the young demographic of its playing list.
There is still the prospect of further interviews for the remaining candidates, with Melbourne’s lockdown believed to have slowed part of the process.
Interim coach Robert Harvey, who coached the Magpies after Buckley’s exit following the Queen’s Birthday victory over minor premiers Melbourne, has yet to have an interview as he has been working through the player exit interviews. But that interview could still take place.
McRae, 47, heads the betting markets after former Adelaide coach and one-time favourite Don Pyke pulled out of the race this week, given his determination to remain in Sydney and keep working with the Swans.
McRae, now at Hawthorn, has previously worked in successful programs at Collingwood and Richmond, and has strong relationships with a number of Magpie players and officials.
Premiership coaches Clarkson and Damien Hardwick supported the senior coaching credentials of McRae and Richmond assistant coach Adam Kingsley when asked about their chances last weekend.
Brad Scott had also been considered an early contender for the Magpies’ role, but has also been in the running for the vacant AFL football operations role.
Collingwood is determined to pick a candidate and a coaching team best suited to the club’s young list profile.
Ten new players joined the club this year via the national, rookie and mid-season drafts, with the prospect of more in the coming months.
Licuria told the Herald Sun in June the club wasn’t looking to appoint the highest-profile coach, but the best-suited candidate to the club’s list profile, potentially unearthing the next Clarkson.
WHAT PYKE SHOCK MEANS FOR PIES CONTENDERS
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Collingwood coaching contender Don Pyke is officially out of the race for the job after deciding to remain with Sydney.
Pyke was at one stage considered the favourite to replace Nathan Buckley given his vast industry experience and his key role in rejuvenating the Swans’ ball movement in 2021.
But the Herald Sun can reveal the former Adelaide coach has told Collingwood’s coaching subcommittee that he will not progress through their process after initial discussions with the five-member panel.
Collingwood will still wait for a final answer from four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson, despite him suggesting he is ready for a 12-month break from football.
The race to the 2021 Toyota AFL Finals Series is on and every match matters. Watch Live & Ad-Break Free on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-days free >
The Pyke decision is believed to be heavily influenced by his family and his determination to remain with the Swans as they finish building an impressive team approaching the premiership window.
Current Hawthorn assistant coach Craig McRae, already seen as a strong contender to secure the role, will now be seen as the man to beat in the race for the role, given a pair of exceptional interviews with Collingwood.
McRae, 47, has not only has experienced successful programs including Richmond, Hawthorn and Collingwood in a long coaching career, he has won a string of endorsements from senior figures at those clubs who believe he is a senior coach in waiting.
Collingwood’s caretaker coach Robert Harvey said on the weekend he would have discussions with Magpies football boss Graham Wright about his path ahead and whether he would be formally interviewed for the role after standing in for the past 10 weeks.
He was seen to do a strong job in helping to blood eight debutants, but he also has a number of suitors including West Coast if he decides to move clubs.
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