Smoke On The Horizon, Fire, The Coach
Some coaches seem to think they deserve to stay forever, and while sometimes that is the case it usually isn't. Here are the AFL coaches, listed from safe to being very close to the door.
Paul Roos - They will never fire him. But he may leave one day, which might also coincide with the retirements of Hall, O'Loughlin, Barry, Everitt and Kirk. Roos wasn't horsing around when he said Longmire would be his eventual replacement, but at a time when Roos will choose.
Mark Williams - Not really the coach of Port Adelaide, more like The King. The 2004 Premiership was great, and rebuilding to once again be a contender was nearly as impressive. Some clubs take a decade to rebuild, Mark Williams did it in six months. He seems to have the job for as long as he wants it.
Leigh Matthews - No chance that anyone there fires him, one reason is that nobody in the Brisbane administration would be brave enough to stroll into Lethal's office and tell him he was fired. The three premierships are also worthy of being mentioned as a reason why he will stay until he wants to retire.
Mark Thompson - It was win or go home for him in 2007, lucky for him and the City of Geelong that he won. If trancing like a cat on a hot tin shack is a good thing to do, he is doing it.
John Worsfold - Howard Jones may have been brought in to review the inner workings of the Eagles, and his verdict was that no-one ever is to blame. The coach got them to two Grand Finals, winning one, so he will be there for a long time to come.
Mick Malthouse - He seems to have gone through the rough patch a few years ago and has them on the way up again. Collingwood can't see anyone better than him available to coach them so he won't be going anywhere else soon.
Alastair Clarkson - He got to start at the bottom with a lot of draft picks and fast approaching is when the results are expected. He will get at least two chances to get this group into a Grand Final.
Ross Lyon - He has a long contract, so he isn't going anywhere for another two or three years.
Mark Harvey - The least successful AFL club, but they have the players to do something in September. He probably gets a couple of years to make them into a contender.
Dean Bailey - He takes over at a club that is running off the rails. On the field and off the field there are problems, but he might be able to fix plenty of things there. He should be safe for a few years, as Melbourne start a needed rebuild.
Dean Laidley - He got lucky, his team started to win just as his contract expired. They gave him a new deal and they can't afford to fire him so he will be around, snarling at everyone, for a few more years.
Brett Ratten - They have all the resources to find a star coach but went with a job for the boys approach. Possibly someone new to the place could have gone about cleaning it up, instead of excusing the problems. He doesn't have a long deal and they can certainly afford to give him a buyout and fire him, so if it is July and they are playing for Daniel Rich there could be another coaching change.
Matthew Knights - He has big footsteps to follow. In many sports, when someone replaces a legendary coach at a club they are often a sacrificial coach that won't last long. Maybe Knights will be able to build a new version of the club, but things could get tough for him when Michael, Fletcher, Johnson, Lloyd and Lucas start retiring.
Neil Craig - When he first became the coach at Adelaide he was great, then very good, after that was good, and he is now teetering on being below average. If he keeps declining he will be out the door, as the Crows won't accept failing like other clubs do. The preseason form is good, but during the previous three seasons the team that won preseason was terrible in the real games so that may not be a good thing.
Terry Wallace - He actually hasn't done a lot as a coach, in terms of winning things. He keeps trying to succeed with small-ball, but it just doesn't work. With every month that goes by, the money he is due decreases and the chance of him being fired goes up.
Rodney Eade - He has won a Grand Final as a coach, but it was in the reserves competition, with the Brisbane Bears, and the game was played at VFL Park so it isn't a recent success. The Bulldogs are going downhill and eventually the coach has to go. In some ways Liberatore was actually right, a lot of changes have to happen there, but he was wrong if he thought he was up to the task. This could be a job for Kevin Sheedy unless Richmond get to him first, and if he landed with the Bulldogs if Eade was sent out there would certainly be a lot more size on the field and also being picked in the draft.
The Cult liked to say fire, and a few club presidents might not be far away from saying it too.
For AFL news and fantasy footy information, go to www.allfooty.info
Paul Roos - They will never fire him. But he may leave one day, which might also coincide with the retirements of Hall, O'Loughlin, Barry, Everitt and Kirk. Roos wasn't horsing around when he said Longmire would be his eventual replacement, but at a time when Roos will choose.
Mark Williams - Not really the coach of Port Adelaide, more like The King. The 2004 Premiership was great, and rebuilding to once again be a contender was nearly as impressive. Some clubs take a decade to rebuild, Mark Williams did it in six months. He seems to have the job for as long as he wants it.
Leigh Matthews - No chance that anyone there fires him, one reason is that nobody in the Brisbane administration would be brave enough to stroll into Lethal's office and tell him he was fired. The three premierships are also worthy of being mentioned as a reason why he will stay until he wants to retire.
Mark Thompson - It was win or go home for him in 2007, lucky for him and the City of Geelong that he won. If trancing like a cat on a hot tin shack is a good thing to do, he is doing it.
John Worsfold - Howard Jones may have been brought in to review the inner workings of the Eagles, and his verdict was that no-one ever is to blame. The coach got them to two Grand Finals, winning one, so he will be there for a long time to come.
Mick Malthouse - He seems to have gone through the rough patch a few years ago and has them on the way up again. Collingwood can't see anyone better than him available to coach them so he won't be going anywhere else soon.
Alastair Clarkson - He got to start at the bottom with a lot of draft picks and fast approaching is when the results are expected. He will get at least two chances to get this group into a Grand Final.
Ross Lyon - He has a long contract, so he isn't going anywhere for another two or three years.
Mark Harvey - The least successful AFL club, but they have the players to do something in September. He probably gets a couple of years to make them into a contender.
Dean Bailey - He takes over at a club that is running off the rails. On the field and off the field there are problems, but he might be able to fix plenty of things there. He should be safe for a few years, as Melbourne start a needed rebuild.
Dean Laidley - He got lucky, his team started to win just as his contract expired. They gave him a new deal and they can't afford to fire him so he will be around, snarling at everyone, for a few more years.
Brett Ratten - They have all the resources to find a star coach but went with a job for the boys approach. Possibly someone new to the place could have gone about cleaning it up, instead of excusing the problems. He doesn't have a long deal and they can certainly afford to give him a buyout and fire him, so if it is July and they are playing for Daniel Rich there could be another coaching change.
Matthew Knights - He has big footsteps to follow. In many sports, when someone replaces a legendary coach at a club they are often a sacrificial coach that won't last long. Maybe Knights will be able to build a new version of the club, but things could get tough for him when Michael, Fletcher, Johnson, Lloyd and Lucas start retiring.
Neil Craig - When he first became the coach at Adelaide he was great, then very good, after that was good, and he is now teetering on being below average. If he keeps declining he will be out the door, as the Crows won't accept failing like other clubs do. The preseason form is good, but during the previous three seasons the team that won preseason was terrible in the real games so that may not be a good thing.
Terry Wallace - He actually hasn't done a lot as a coach, in terms of winning things. He keeps trying to succeed with small-ball, but it just doesn't work. With every month that goes by, the money he is due decreases and the chance of him being fired goes up.
Rodney Eade - He has won a Grand Final as a coach, but it was in the reserves competition, with the Brisbane Bears, and the game was played at VFL Park so it isn't a recent success. The Bulldogs are going downhill and eventually the coach has to go. In some ways Liberatore was actually right, a lot of changes have to happen there, but he was wrong if he thought he was up to the task. This could be a job for Kevin Sheedy unless Richmond get to him first, and if he landed with the Bulldogs if Eade was sent out there would certainly be a lot more size on the field and also being picked in the draft.
The Cult liked to say fire, and a few club presidents might not be far away from saying it too.
For AFL news and fantasy footy information, go to www.allfooty.info
