IT'S UNNECESSARY For coaches to be accredited before they are eligible to win a senior coaching position, Leigh Matthews says
The AFL Coaches Association is pushing for the change, but Matthews argues it's outside the AFLCA's brief to develop criteria to assist clubs in their selection process.
"The club has a choice," Matthews said. "The club should be smart enough to work out who is the best of the available options. If he [a senior coaching candidate] comes out of the media, that is their choice."
Matthews, who joined the Brisbane Lions board at the end of last season, told 3AW's Sports Today he could not imagine how the accreditation process could work and said its effectiveness would be dependent on the AFL being behind an initiative to license coaches.
However he thought the clubs should always retain the right to choose anyone it determined was appropriate as senior coach.
At its AGM in Adelaide last Wednesday, the AFLCA endorsed a move to investigate what experience and qualifications an AFL coach may require in order to be eligible to win a senior coaching position.
The initiative gained momentum after Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson raised concerns in a presentation to the AFL Commission that senior AFL coaches were the only coaches who did not have to gain accreditation to coach. The AFLCA developed a working party to investigate the issue.
In 2014, six clubs will have new coaches after three coaches were sacked (Mark Neeld, Michael Voss and Scott Watters), one resigned (John Worsfold), one handed over the job as part of a succession plan (Kevin Sheedy) and Essendon coach James Hird was suspended for 12 months, during 2013.
AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou supported the AFLCA initiative when he spoke to the media on Tuesday.
"If they can get some form of accreditation, proper training and induction, that would more than likely keep them in the game and give them better grounding," Demetriou said.
"I've already heard a couple of coaches say they really wish they had the benefit of having some proper development and training.
"That's something we agreed we'd pursue further with the (AFL) Coaches Association. That's a work in progress, but I think it's very encouraging."
The AFLCA is concerned at the effect being inadequately prepared for the ever increasing demands of the job can have on the person who is selected as well as the impact on the club of having a coach who is not prepared properly.
It believes all clubs could benefit from a better understanding of what the job requires and what judgements are necessary to make the right appointment.
The demands of the senior coaching role have expanded rapidly since Matthews retired from the job in 2008 after 461 games and four premierships as coach of Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions.
The AFL has also had to bear the financial cost some clubs have incurred when sacking coaches before their contract has ended and often replacing football departments.
Some estimate it has cost the competition about $5 million to pay out the contracts of coaches sacked before their tenure ended.
With revenue sharing a significant plank of revised equalisation policies, the AFL and AFLCA want to develop a process that minimises risks for clubs and coaches rather than thinking they will eliminate it.
AFLCA chief executive Danny Frawley said last week AFL coaches were passionate about implementing a thorough apprenticeship system to help prepare coaches for the rigours of the job.
