AFL
2 weeks ago
Adam Simpson set for coaching return with Victorian club
By Jaiden Sciberras
Carlton has landed a major addition to their coaching group in 2026, reaching advanced talks with West Coast premiership coach Adam Simpson.
As reported by 7News reporter Mitch Cleary, Simpson has been in talks with the Blues over a potential part-time role as a director of coaching, with hopes of assisting under-fire head coach Michael Voss.
Having communicated with several Victorian-based clubs, Simpson has settled on the Blues, with the club confirming on Tuesday afternoon.
Off the back of a disastrous 2025 season, the Blues have revamped their coaching panel, letting go of head of football Brad Lloyd and assistant coaches Aaron Hamill and Aaron Greaves, while introducing several new line and development coaches to support Voss.
"We’re really pleased to bring someone of Adam’s experience into the Club," said Carlton GM of Football Chris Davies.
"He’s a coach who has a whole heap of experience and is a premiership coach. His role won’t be player-facing, it’ll well and truly be behind the scenes with Michael and the rest of the coaching group. Michael and I have been talking to Adam over the past period of time, and it’s clear that he wants to give something back again. The timing really works well.
"For Michael, it’ll be an objective eye and someone who Michael can talk to from time to time to get an objective view of what’s going on here at the footy club. For the broader coaching group, we really want to continue to invest in their development, so we believe having someone like Adam who can help from a coaching perspective with a broader assistant and development coaching group will be another thing that will be fantastic for them.
"Overall, it’s to have someone who can give their experience, the benefit of a significant amount of experience while also making sure it’s an objective view. We don’t want Adam to get too in-depth so there’s any groupthink, it’s really Adam sits one out and one back and it can be another objective view to our football department."
After being backed in by new CEO Graham Wright, Voss will now coach with reinforcements over the final year of his deal as the Blues look to return to lost form.
Simpson was let go by the Eagles in July of 2024 and will relocate to Melbourne with a range of media commitments which includes being a key part of the Monday Means Test on SEN with Gerard Whateley. He will also join Scott Cummings & Tim Gossage on SEN WA on Thursday mornings.
