Which coaches would be feeling comfortable right now and which ones are vulnerable?
SEN’s Tom Morris has undertaken a Coaching Temperature Check to keep up with which coaches are safely locked away for the time being and whose futures are not quite as secure.
In particular, Morris has looked at the eight coaches who come out of contract in 2024 and what the future may hold for them.
“There are eight coaches who are out of contract at the end of 2024,” Morris said on SEN Breakfast.
“How many of these eight will remain in their jobs for 2024 or how many won’t make it?
“I’ve broken it into four groups.”
New deals incoming: Craig McRae and Simon Goodwin
“McRae and Goodwin are surely penning new deals in the next few months.”
New deals likely: Matthew Nicks and Justin Longmuir
“Nicks and Longmuir are in very similar positions, both 5-5, and probably go into next year unsigned (beyond 2024) at this point.”
Essentially it’s up to them: Damien Hardwick and Chris Scott
“Scott and Hardwick, I think it’s essentially up to them what they want to do.
“There’s a bit of uncertainty around that for various reasons.”
Vulnerable: Stuart Dew and Michael Voss
“Then there’s Voss and Dew who I think are probably the most vulnerable of the eight.
“With Gold Coast and Carlton not meeting expectations as much as they’d like so far this year.”
See the coach contracts breakdown below:
Matthew Nicks (Adelaide) - 2024
Chris Fagan (Brisbane) - 2025
Michael Voss (Carlton) - 2024
Craig McRae (Collingwood) - 2024
Brad Scott (Essendon) - 2026
Justin Longmuir (Fremantle) - 2024
Chris Scott (Geelong) - 2024
Stuart Dew (Gold Coast) - 2024
Adam Kingsley (GWS) - 2025
Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn) - 2025
Simon Goodwin (Melbourne) - 2024
Alastair Clarkson (North Melbourne) - 2027
Ken Hinkley (Port Adelaide) - 2023
Damien Hardwick (Richmond) - 2024
Ross Lyon (St Kilda) - 2026
John Longmire (Sydney) - 2025
Adam Simpson (West Coast) - 2025
Luke Beveridge (Western Bulldogs) - 2025
2023: Hinkley (1)
2024: Nicks, Voss, McRae, Longmuir, C.Scott, Dew, Goodwin, Hardwick (8)
2025: Fagan, Mitchell, Longmire, Simpson, Kingsley, Beveridge (6)
2026: Lyon, B.Scott (2)
2027: Clarkson (1)
Kane Cornes believes the most interesting name on the list is one coach who is actually out of contract in 2023.
There has been much talk about Port Adelaide’s Ken Hinkley already, and the situation has only become more intriguing with the Power sitting third on the ladder with an 8-2 record.
“The fascination is around Ken Hinkley and Port Adelaide,” said Cornes.
“Are they going to let this guy walk?
“If you ask me right now, ‘Will Ken Hinkley be coaching Port Adelaide next year?’, I would say no.
“I feel like they’re going to go in a different direction.
“But it’s one of the biggest calls in club history. You’ve got a very good coach, the players love him, they’re all-in, and you’re going to go with a fresh set of eyes, you’d want to make sure the fresh set of eyes is good.”
Morris concluded: “We know with this that one domino can fall and it opens up the entire landscape.
“We saw it last year and we’ve been it before.”