Former Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams is hot favourite to win the vacant Melbourne AFL coaching role.
After announcing the sacking of incumbent Mark Neeld, Melbourne’s new chief executive Peter Jackson told yesterday’s media conference that the Demons required “a very good coach”, “an experienced coach”.
Several among those who fit the criteria have stated they are not interested, leaving Williams and Rodney Eade as the main contenders.
Eade, a former Sydney and Bulldogs coach, says the fire still burns to be a senior AFL coach, but he’s not 100 per cent sure he wants a challenge as daunting as that facing Melbourne.
He was a much younger man when he took a struggling Sydney to the 1996 grand final.
His seven-year stint as Western Bulldogs coach was also productive, taking the cash-strapped Doggies to successive preliminary finals in 2008-10.
But the 55-year-old said he was enjoying his job as Collingwood’s football and coaching strategist and wouldn’t necessarily leap straight into the Demons job even if they wanted him.
“If they did happen to want to have a chat, well we’d see what happened then,” Eade told Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Monday night.
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“But if they didn’t, that’s no drama. I’m certainly happy where I am at the moment.”
Eade acknowledged the desire to return to senior coaching hadn’t waned.
“I’ve still got that fire in the gut,” he said.
But he noted he had felt the same way last year when the Port Adelaide coaching position opened up and eventually decided against taking that job.
“I said I had the fire in the belly but, for a few reasons, that didn’t work out,” he said.
“Probably in my case, I didn’t want to take the job and didn’t want to go any further with it as far as talking about it.”
Eade said he wouldn’t be approaching the Demons, but it was up to them whether they approached him.
“That’s out of my hands. I’m not going to talk to anyone as far as putting my hand up. I’m totally focused at Collingwood,” he said.
“I’m really enjoying my role.”
Essendon senior assistant Mark Thompson, who guided Geelong to two premierships, ruled himself out.
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“No. I just don’t want to do it,” Thompson said.
Former Sydney coach Paul Roos again said he is not interested in coaching.
“I’m the opposite to Rocket (Eade): Rocket said he has a burning desire to coach,” he told Fox Sport’s On The Couch program. “I don’t.”
Roos added the Demons must hire an experienced coach, adding Eade and Mark Williams would be outstanding candidates.
“It has to be someone you can sell to the members immediately,” Roos said.
“This is the hard thing for Melbourne supporters – they may not win next year.
“That’s a long rebuilding process (and) a young coach is going to find that very, very difficult.”
That leaves Mark Williams, the Port Adelaide inaugural premiership coach whose passion for the game is just what Melbourne needs.
Williams was sacked from Port in mid-2010 and those who wielded the axe are themselves long gone.
He spent some time at the emerging Greater Western Sydney, a club dominated by teenagers.
It wasn’t the right place for a hard man like Williams and he moved to Melbourne where he’s been a major contributor in the revival of Richmond.
It’s also worth remembering that the newly appointed CEO of Melbourne Peter Jackson has first-hand knowledge of the Williams passion.
Jackson was in his first year as CEO of Essendon in 1996 when Williams as assistant coach to Kevin Sheedy before departing on good terms to take a similar role in Port Adelaide’s first years in the AFL before becoming its second senior coach in 1999.
Get ready for the second coming of Mark Williams.
Other contenders (who lack the experience of Williams or Eade) are Scott Burns, current West Coast Eagles midfield coach and Brett Ratten, who helped to rebuild Carlton but had little success.
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