AFLCA boss Alistair Nicholson opens up on growing issue of outside pressures facing coaches

Senior coaching gigs were once the most coveted job in footy, until something unusual occurred in 2024 that had alarm bells ringing at the AFL, which could prompt major change.

They have been the most coveted jobs in football.

When there are only 18 senior coaching positions in the AFL, the race to secure a top job is usually a hotly contested race.

But something unusual happened late last year which seemed to not only buck the trend, it shot up a big red flare up over the AFL coaching cohort.

When West Coast parted ways with premiership coach Adam Simpson, a big group of some of the most highly-rated assistant coaches in the game moved quickly to rule themselves out.

Within weeks, Ashley Hansen, Daniel Giansiracusa, Jaymie Graham, Dean Cox, Josh Carr and Nathan Buckley all opted out.

While Cox and Carr were in line for the gigs at Sydney and Port Adelaide, it meant West Coast had to get proactive in the coach search, calling Collingwood’s Hayden Skipworth to get involved in the process alongside Geelong’s Steven King.

Adam Simpson was replaced by Andrew McQualter. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

While the Eagles were thrilled with new coach Andrew McQualter, who has fine pedigree from Richmond, St Kilda and Melbourne, it crystallised a belief within the industry that some of the shine may have come off coaching jobs across the industry.

As a profession, only seven per cent of coaches think they are appropriately rewarded for their time and stress levels, termination clauses remain inconsistent across the competition and only one-third of coaches say they have a good work life balance.

And there is a feeling among some at the top of the coaching tree the depth in the coaching fraternity has dropped off.

Over the past decade, there has been a sharp reduction in the number of highly-credentialed players moving into assistant coaching jobs

So, when there was a string of drop-outs for the Eagles’ job, AFL Coaches’ Association chief executive Alistair Nicholson felt a level of concern, fuelling the need to implement a strategy to address the growing issues facing some of footy’s most under-pressure and visible figures.

“Andrew (McQualter) will do a really good job, so they have a great candidate there,” Nicholson said.

Essendon assistant Daniel Giansiracusa quickly ruled himself out of contention for the West Coast job. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

As did Ashley Hansen. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

“But what we saw was people deciding to step out (of the Eagles’ race) for whatever reason, and maybe it just wasn’t the right time for those candidates.

“But that was different to what it was 10 years ago when you would pin your ears back to do whatever you could to get a job like that.

“West Coast ran a thorough process, but we want as many people being ready to go and going for those sort of roles, and good coaches coming in underneath.

“I think they (candidates) are being more strategic and more careful about it. And that is not necessarily the worst thing.

“But I think it (the drop outs) was something to note.”

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Herald Sun, Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said he didn’t want to leave his house amid some intense off-field issues, John Longmire stepped away from the Swans’ job late last year with one year left on his contract and West Coast’s Adam Simpson declared it was probably a journalist’s “300th article” about his contract which indicated his time was up mid-2024.

“You guys can be cruel sometimes,” Simpson said. “We’re human and we have families”.

So, while the intensity and pressure is ever increasing, the Coaches Association is looking ahead to ensure the job satisfaction, wages, personal development opportunities and termination mechanisms are also on the improve to ensure coaching jobs continue to appeal.

While the soft cap has gone up in recent years back to about pre-Covid levels, the data regarding coaches’ wellbeing has plateaued.

And alarm bells are ringing over the data.

“What we have found is that there hasn’t been great change over the past two years about how coaches are feeling about certain things in the industry,” he said.

Simon Goodwin has felt the coaching pressure. Picture: Mark Stewart

“Under 10 per cent of coaches feel like they are fairly rewarded for time and stress. That is a very low number and it has been the same for the past two years.

“That is why the AFL CA board really wants to intensify the efforts of the industry to change that. But we have to be on the same page.

“We need a great vision and purpose for the coaching profession because we can’t go to the US or the UK to grab a coach from somewhere else. They have to come from within.

“We want to make the AFL coaching industry as healthy as it can be.

“That comes with a number of things whether it is how we look after coaches in transition, personal development, remuneration.

“What the industry needs is a holistic plan otherwise we won’t get the change we need”.

Among the chief concerns is the coaching talent pool which has seen a decline in the number of top-end stars join the coaching ranks.

And it has been felt at the top by senior coaches.

“We had a look at 300, 200 and 150-game players moving into coaching and compared with the 2015 and 2017 data there was definitely a step down in regards to quality players making the transition to coaching,” he said.

AFLCA boss Alistair Nicholson. Picture: AAP Image/Sean Garnsworthy

“Clubs want the best-credentialed and most experienced players coming into their program and there is a concern there may not be as much as there used to be.

“It is a big commitment, it is weekends, and it is probably harder than it used to be. You are dealing with a lot more than tactical stuff in the role.

“Experienced senior coaches have a good understanding about what they need at assistant level.

“Some have questioned whether that (talent) is right up there at the level that it once was.

“The role is more sophisticated but there is more consideration given now to the time required in the role, remuneration and other options they may have.

“That is a consideration for people who may want to jump into AFL coaching, probably more so than before.

“We want those people jumping into it so they get a taste and hopefully become the next Sam Mitchell.”

Originally published as AFLCA boss Alistair Nicholson opens up on growing issue of outside pressures facing coaches