WEST Coast coach Adam Simpson has shut down speculation linking him to North Melbourne's senior job, declaring he is committed to the Eagles.
Simpson only signed a three-year contract extension until the end of 2022 last August, but his name was quickly mentioned once Brad Scott's imminent departure from the Roos became clear.
The reigning premiership coach, Simpson is a North Melbourne legend after appearing in 306 games, captaining the club and playing in two flags, but the 43-year-old won't be going anywhere.
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"I'm contracted and I'm really happy where I am," Simpson told Channel Seven.
"I'm at the start of a four-year contract and we've just come off a premiership.
"So I'm happy where I'm at."
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Asked if the Roos should even bother picking up the phone, Simpson replied: "I think they know where I stand with it all.
"It'll be old news pretty quickly for me. We've got a lot on our plate as it is. I'm really happy where I'm at."
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Simpson described Saturday's comeback from 33 points down against Adelaide as one of the "better wins away (from home)" and praised his side's resilience.
"It's probably built up over five or six years and our players now understand what it takes to dig deep and find that resilience," he said.
"They've done it before now, which is always a good sign for when we're in that position again, it's something they've been through.
"That inner belief is really hard to teach. You've got to go through some hard times and we've gone through our fair share."
The Eagles are set to recall half-back Lewis Jetta from suspension as they shoot for five straight wins against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.
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But Simpson again hosed down speculation star ruckman Nic Naitanui could make a sooner-than-expected comeback from his second knee reconstruction.
A large contingent of senior Eagles – including Shannon Hurn, Jeremy McGovern, Josh Kennedy, Brad Sheppard, Jack Darling and Will Schofield - were absent from training at Subiaco Oval on Monday, but Naitanui caught the eye leaping onto a marking bag.
"I think the plan is to get through to the (round 13) bye and maybe WAFL football straight after the bye," Simpson said.
"But we haven't locked that away. See how he feels. He's training well, everything's ticking over but nothing will happen before the bye."
