Adem Yze is the first name publicly in the mix to be Richmond’s next senior coach, with Melbourne confirming multiple reports on Thursday.
Alan Richardson, in charge of the Demons’ footy department, revealed he has fielded a call from Tigers footy boss Tim Livingstone about Yze joining the coaching search.
It follows a report from SEN’s Tom Morris that stated Yze, Chris Newman (Hawthorn), Andrew McQualter (Richmond), Daniel Giansiracusa (Essendon) and Xavier Clarke (Richmond) are the leading contenders and will go through the process.
Yze was just last year in the running for the senior coaching job at GWS and Essendon and narrowly missed out. But he’s set to go around again a season later.
“Tim Livingstone gave me a call to have a chat about Yze, and my understanding is he’s in the mix and we’ll go through that process and we’re incredibly supportive of that,” Richardson told SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“The only deal that we’ve had to make with him that if he is successful then we would want him to continue with us all the way through and hopefully we go late into the finals campaign and he’s a big part of that and then he would go with our blessing, we’d be incredibly proud if that was to happen.
“He’s a quality person and a quality coach, so we’re supportive of that.”
The process will no doubt be complicated by Melbourne’s impending run towards a flag, with a top four finish to guarantee they’ll be present until at least mid-September.
Morris reports Richmond wants to appoint its new coach either just before or soon after the Grand Final on September 30.
But that’s of no concern to Melbourne or Richardson, who is confident Yze will see out his responsibilities at the Demons regardless.
“He’s actually done it a couple of times, so we’ve got some experience of his ability to be able to continue at doing his role and be really elite at what he does for us whilst potentially going through the process. He’s done that before and he’s been really good at it,” Richardson added.
Yze has been at Melbourne since late 2020 and is regarded as Melbourne’s primary tactician throughout the club’s brilliant run in recent seasons.
Josh Carr (Port Adelaide) and Justin Leppitsch (Collingwood) are two who have reportedly ruled themselves out of becoming Richmond’s next coach.
Earlier this month, SEN Chief Sports Reporter Sam Edmund revealed the Tigers had employed a different type of search to find its next coach, with the position made available to application for some in the industry.