AFL kingmakers will judge coaches by fit, not pedigree

“If you can’t connect with your players, you won’t survive,” Schwab said. “You can’t just be a tactical genius. You can get the tactical nous in. If you’re missing an area as a coach, what’s the area they’re lacking, and let’s bring in that support.” Know what you need The Blues and Bombers have churned through just about every type of coaching profile without becoming a regular contender or, in Essendon’s case, winning a final. They have tried the Messiah/premiership coach (Denis Pagan, Mick Malthouse

and John Worsfold), the untried outsider (Brendon Bolton, Ben Rutten and Matthew Knights), the favourite son (Brett Ratten and James Hird), the interim (Ratten and David Teague) and the experienced coach from another club (Michael Voss and Brad Scott). Though it’s natural to want to avoid making the same mistake twice and overcorrecting, Noble and Balme both said each appointment should be treated on its merits. If a subcommittee knows what it wants, they said, it reduces the likelihood of their view being clouded by

history. “The critical thing was the assessment on the environment,” Noble said. “Are you clear on the understanding of what that looks like, how it’s performing? There are lots of environmental measures that you’re looking at.” “Have you got a mature group? Is the club moving to a phase of drafting? How far away from success do you think you are? What are the type of behaviours experienced that the coach will need to lean into when they come in?” Balme said the past should

not influence clubs. “It gets back to sitting down and working out what you need, a bit of what you don’t need, and judge that independently of what you’ve done before,” Balme said. Noble’s mock coaching exercise The “16 to 17” applicants the Lions had in 2016, Noble said, were whittled down to a shortlist of four, then three after Ratten’s withdrawal. Panellists were required to complete a detailed, weighted assessment on each candidate on areas such as match day ability, relationship and culture building,

and leadership, Noble said. In his processes, Noble showed applicants video of a quarter from that club’s game that year and asked them to pretend to be the coach. The candidate could use the panellists as assistants or the runner to simulate how a game situation would be managed. The point of the exercise was to test how a prospective coach would respond in real time, rather than through a presentation. “My thought was how do we find a way where we can add some

pressure in the interview where it will give us some legitimacy on what we’re likely to get, so the coach doesn’t walk in through the door, and we get something different from the interview,” Noble said. “We did the same with Walshy, Don, and Fages. Here’s some vision, you’re the coach, please show us how you’re going to coach through this portion of the game, and what we’re likely to get in the outcome of that. “We don’t tell them before they come. It’s fairly

cold. We’ll give you a couple of minutes to prepare. How do you want to set that up? Are we going to be line coaches? “What are you seeing? What are your instructions to a player through a runner? What are you looking at? “As far as stats, how are you calibrating the information that you’re subjectively seeing with the data that is coming through? Those sorts of areas around those behaviours that you’re more likely to see in reality, rather than in a presentation.”

As much as he knew the skills and traits required to succeed as coach, Noble’s own coaching career was ill-fated, winning just five of 38 games with North Melbourne. “It’s totally different,” Noble laughed of the skill transferral. “Sitting in the chair brings with you a whole new level of experiences. “Until you get in it, it’s like talking to a first-game player. You can try to tell them what it’s likely to be, but you don’t get that experience until you’re in the hot

seat.” Process matters, doesn’t it? The Swans have not gone to market with their coach this century, yet they’ve still been one of the competition’s modern powerhouses. Since 2010, Longmire is the only premiership coach not to have gone through the conventional selection process. Goodwin, like Longmire, was installed as part of a succession plan, though he was put through a process run by the then Melbourne CEO Peter Jackson with Todd Viney, Josh Mahoney and Roos. Gold Coast, St Kilda and North Melbourne headhunted

their current coaches and thus must overcome the odds with Damien Hardwick, Lyon or Alastair Clarkson respectively. Noble is a big believer in running a thorough process. In his recruitments, he required panellists to write detailed reports marking each candidate against the criteria and why. On each occasion, he said, there was little debate required to finalise their selection. “The process dismantles the element of luck for me,” Noble said. “It deflects from the thinking, ‘This guy has been around for a long period; therefore

he must be a good coach’. The luck diminishes the stronger your process is.” By parting ways with their coaches in May, Carlton and Essendon have plenty of time. There is no need to rush. “It’s a huge job, a very significant job,” Balme said. “Footy clubs have a responsibility to fans, community and the game, itself. It’s a very important decision. It’s certainly worth spending a lot of time doing it.” Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign

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AFL coaching, premiership coach, Brisbane Lions, Noble, Balme, Schwab, Longmire, Goodwin, Carlton, Essendon, Ratten, Teague