Sam Mitchell will bide time before taking on senior AFL coaching role, says David Parkin

SAM Mitchell will move into the coaches box next year but one of his mentors says the retiring champ will embark on a different pathway to a senior role than other greats before him.

Glenn McFarlane

@MaccaHeraldSun

2 min read

August 2, 2017 - 7:00PM

Sam Mitchell has confirmed he will hang the boots at the end of the 2017 season. Picture: Getty Images

West Coast

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RETIRING West Coast midfielder Sam Mitchell won’t rush into a senior AFL coaching role before charting a lengthy apprenticeship, according to one of his mentors, David Parkin.

As the Herald Sun revealed exclusively last Friday, 34-year-old Mitchell will retire at the end of the season to take on a three-year role as an assistant coach to Adam Simpson at the Eagles.

One of the AFL’s most decorated players, the former Hawthorn and now West Coast star said on Wednesday he was looking forward to embarking on the next phase of his football life as soon as the Eagles’ season is over.

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Parkin said Mitchell’s patience will stand in him in good stead for the future, as he embarks on a different pathway to the one that Michael Voss, James Hird and Nathan Buckley took ahead of their entry into senior coaching.

“Sam is desperate to coach and has done the qualifications, but he also understands you need to manage your own group, unlike Voss, Hird, Buckley and company, who didn’t,” Parkin, a four-time premiership coach, said.

Sam Mitchell at the announcement of his retirement with West Coast coach Adam Simpson. Picture: Megan Powell

“You have to have done that before you get appointed (to a senior role) in my humble opinion. That is something he might be able to do in the West.”

Parkin said Mitchell was, like Buckley, “a black and white person”, but that he understands “there is a thing called grey in between.”

“He is very like Bucks in his personality and his outlook and intelligence,” he said.

“Sam knows the people management part of it, as an AFL coach, is what it is all about. He will have all the other attributes, he has just got to learnt to manage people, which I am sure he will.”

Mitchell in the coaches box during the Round 18 game against Collingwood at Etihad Stadium. Picture: Getty Images

Mitchell admitted the lure of coaching played a role in his decision to call time on one of the most decorated AFL playing careers.

He could play his final match in Melbourne, against St Kilda, on Sunday, which will be his 324th game.

“Monday mornings I wake up and I’ve got some coaching responsibilities and some playing responsibilities,” Mitchell said.

“The idea of opening my computer and doing the coaching side of things is a bit more exciting and the passion for that has outgrown the passion to jump in the pool and do my own recovery. I feel like the time for me is right.”

Simpson said Mitchell was “all class ... his biggest asset is his brain. It will take time but I think he’ll grow into a really good coach.”

Geelong coach Chris Scott said: “He’s like a stone in my shoe, Sam Mitchell — and I hope he takes that as a compliment. Not the most naturally-gifted athlete, but (he) made up for it in spades with this smarts and his work ethic.”

SAM MITCHELL: 16 YEARS AT THE TOP

Age: 34

Clubs: Hawthorn (2002-2016), West Coast (2017)

Honours:

— Brownlow Medal (2012)

— Third in Brownlow Medal (2015)

— Hawthorn best and fairest (2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016)

— Second best and fairest (2008)

— Third best and fairest (2010, 2013, 2015)

—All-Australian (2011, 2013, 2015)

— AFL Rising Star (2003)

— Liston Trophy (2002)