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Find your frequency hereWhat would Simpson do if he was coaching Melbourne?
Nicholas Quinlan • August 23rd, 2025 5:15 pm
Adam Simpson has provided his coaching insights as to what he would do to help turn Melbourne around for 2026.
Having sacked 2021 Premiership coach Simon Goodwin earlier in the month, the Demons are currently on the lookout for a coach, with their season ending on Friday night.
Simpson was seen as an initial contender for the job, but he announced nearly two weeks ago on SEN WA Breakfast that he would not be in the running for the vacant Demons position, citing he wasn’t ready to return to coaching.
He joined the likes of John Longmire, Troy Chaplin, Ken Hinkley and James Hird of potential candidates that have pulled themselves out of contention.
But despite no longer being in the running, he has given his thoughts on how he would tackle the job, believing the main focus should be sorting out the off-field issues.
“I’m not going to pretend to know what Melbourne needs,” Simpson prefaced on SEN’s Crunch Time.
“I think we’ve all got opinions on what we have seen, and a little bit has been culturally.
“It feels like there’s been unrest. I don’t know who it’s been with, I don’t know if it’s the board or the lack of leadership above Goody (Simon Goodwin), or it's Goody, or it’s the leaders.
“Every second week this year, I’ve heard something different, and it just feels uneasy.
“So, from a coaching point of view, that would be my first thing, to just settle down our culture and let’s settle down the perceived leaks in the club. Let’s settle the training base.
“We don’t care where we train; doesn’t matter. We’ve won a flag doing it differently.”
Simpson also offered some advice about fixing the on-field issues, noting it would mainly be with the players rather than the style of play.
“There’s going to be someone who brings a different style in,” he added.
“I’m looking forward to whoever that is going, ‘I’d do this differently’.
“So, what they saw last night, they would be looking at personnel, but not really system.
“I know they are a good clearance side when all their big guns are there, but what’s the depth of how they defend?
“What’s the front-half look like? How are we going to enter our inside 50s?
“Because I think they undervalue their supply. They were a supply side four years ago or three years ago, and coming from West Coast, we couldn’t get past 40 inside 50s, and everyone was critical of Melbourne having 60 and not converting.
“That is the best problem in football.”
Based on current speculation, it appears that Nathan Buckley is the leading candidate for the role, with the selection committee expected to decide before Grand Final week, according to Melbourne CEO Paul Guerra.
