Adam Simpson: Former West Coast coach rules himself out of Melbourne coaching race
Adam Simpson has ruled himself out of contention for Melbourne’s coaching job, declaring he was “not in the right headspace” to put his hand up for the role.
It comes as Simpson revealed the Demons had not yet contacted him to seek out his interest in becoming coach in the wake of Simon Goodwin’s dismissal last week.
Simpson had been considered among the frontrunners to step into the top job at Melbourne, along with fellow premiership coach John Longmire. But the pair have now both removed themselves from contention.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“I don’t want to coach next year,” Simpson said on SEN.
“I think I’ll give it a spell.
“I was thinking through it over the weekend, and I know ‘Horse’ (Longmire) has done the same thing.
“It just doesn’t feel like it’s the right time to be available.”
Melbourne made their sacking call on Goodwin last Monday, but a week later, Simpson said he had yet to hear from anyone at the club, saying: “They haven’t called me.”
“And sometimes you wait for these things because you might think, ’I’m not interested’, but then you get the phone call and you go, ‘Oh hang on, now I’m wanted’, and then you sort of pivot in a different way,” Simpson said.
“But I’ve had a good think about it and I’m just not in the right headspace with it. I’m enjoying all this (media work).”
The 2018 Eagles premiership coach said he had realised over the weekend that his passion and preparation to potentially take on the role was not where it needed to be.
“The passion to go through all the process... because once you get approached, it’s turbo, and you need to really be prepared. I’m not really prepared and not in the right headspace,” he said.
Longmire and Simpson’s decisions leave ex-Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley and outgoing Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley as the leading candidates for Melbourne who boast significant experience in the top role, while untried assistants such as Hayden Skipworth and Daniel Giansiracusa are also in the mix.
Simpson’s call comes 13 months after he coached the last of his 242 Eagles games - against Goodwin’s Demons - with the 49-year-old taking on a role in the media this year with SEN and Fox Footy.
