Former AFL player Campbell Brown has revealed his strong mail that Dean Cox will be the next head coach of the West Coast Eagles. The club announced the departure of long-time coach Adam Simpson on Tuesday by mutual decision, after three years of disappointing results.
Assistant Jarrad Schofield will be the club’s interim coach, but the Eagles are now on the hunt for a new full-time head coach. Speaking on SEN radio on Tuesday afternoon, former Hawthorn and Gold Coast player Brown said the mail was Cox will get the gig from 2025.
Cox played 290 games for West Coast and is currently an assistant coach at the Sydney Swans. “I’ll give you some breaking news,” Brown said on Tuesday. “You can take this as absolute gospel. Now he won’t be replacing him right now because he’s not at the club as he’s currently up in Sydney. Dean Cox will be the coach of the West Coast Eagles next year.”
Cox previously ruled himself out of becoming West Coast coach, but that was when Simpson was still in the job. Eagles CEO Don Pyke has previously worked alongside Cox at the Swans.
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Ash Hansen is another name who has been thrown up as a potential replacement for Simpson, but the club wants Simpson to have one final hurrah in Sunday’s AFL clash with Brisbane in Perth. Simpson fronted the media alongside Pyke and chairman Paul Fitzpatrick on Tuesday afternoon to explain the “mutual” decision.
The 2018 premiership coach is still undecided about whether he will coach against the Lions on Sunday. “I haven’t made that call quite yet,” Simpson said. “Obviously a decision’s been made (to change coach) and it’s mutual.
“I feel like the time is right. I’ve been reasonably stoic over the last few years about the direction of the club. It’s a slow burn, it’s going to take a bit of time. Someone else will come in now, a bit like when I took over from Woosha (John Worsfold) at the end of 2013. Someone comes in with energy and gets to grow with the group. I think it’s the right call.”
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Pyke, who was previously head coach at the Adelaide Crows, ruled himself out of taking over for Simpson. He will instead play a key role in his chief executive position in choosing the right person for the role.
Former West Coast forward Hansen is currently an assistant at Carlton, but Cox is believed to the the front-runner. Interim coach Schofield and Fremantle assistant Jaymie Graham are other highly respected figures who are expected to be sounded out.
“We’ll cast the net as wide as we can to find the best person,” Pyke said. “We’ll put a list of people to approach and start talking to about leading the club going forward.
“I know people will start speculating as to who. We’ve got an opportunity with a player group that we think’s on the rise to find someone who has that energy, drive and passion to take the group to where we want to go. He (Cox) will certainly be a name we’d consider.”
with AAP