Port Adelaide explains Ken Hinkley, Josh Carr coaching success plan

Ken Hinkley has revealed he considered not coaching in 2025 after agreeing to a succession plan to make Josh Carr Port Adelaide’s next senior coach.

Ken Hinkley says he considered not coaching this year before agreeing to the handover that sees Josh Carr take over as Port Adelaide’s senior coach in 2026.

At the Power’s official announcement of the succession plan, Hinkley when asked whether had considered following John Longmire in exiting as Sydney’s senior coach without a farewell year said: “Yes is the answer, the outcome is this.”

EXCLUSIVE: HOW WE REVEALED HINKLEY-CARR HANDOVER WAS ON

“I am still right to do it, I still have the energy to do it, I still have the passion to do it. I think there is still some help that I can give the club and Josh to be 100 per cent ready.

“What I do like is the clarity of this for us and the footy club is the time now allows us great preparation time.

“It doesn’t jeopardise our program, for those who think it will we have too good of a program with great people that it would have any damage done.

“All it will do is reinforce our commitment.”

Hinkley said he still had the “fire, the burn and the desire” to coach the Power in 2025.

But he said he knew it was his time to hand over the reins to Carr.

“It took a bit of time, as I have said I am bit of a fighter,” he said.

“But there comes a time where you know and I just knew that for the club, the players and for Josh it was time for Ken to go.”

Despite knowing it was time, he conceded it didn’t “feel great” saying to people he would be finishing up at the end of the season.

“I think that is where it is hard to accept because you don’t want to say it,” he said.

“Even today when I said it out aloud for the first time to people I’m finishing up it doesn’t feel great, but it feels right.

“Thirteen years ago I said I was the right man standing, now I am the right man leaving.”

David Koch and Josh Carr at the press conference to announce the succession plan.

While stepped down as senior coach last year, Longmire has remained at the Swans as the club’s executive director of club performance.

Hinkley said he wasn’t thinking at all of what he would do after 2025, but hinted that he would like to remain in football in some way.

“It is not something I would even think about because I am so passionate about this year,” he said.

“I am not even thinking about 2026. I have no idea about what is next because I only have to worry about Friday’s internal trial that we have and the following week I have such great distractions and I am not in a hurry to worry about it.

“I have great energy, energy is not an issue.

“I am a bit of a worker, but I am not in a hurry to make any decisions and it certainly won’t be before I finish my task and my task is to coach Port Adelaide this year.”

Originally published as Port Adelaide explains Ken Hinkley, Josh Carr coaching success plan