THE SEARCH has begun for West Coast's next coach, but they don't need to look far to find their man.

John Worsfold's 12-year stint as senior coach came to a shock end on Thursday when he announced his resignation.

Worsfold claimed he no longer had the hunger, passion or energy to thrive in the role, saying the time was right to hand over the reins to someone fresh.

That 'someone' is likely to be former Magpies midfielder Scott Burns, who has been Worsfold's assistant since 2009 and is highly-rated within the club.

The "coach in waiting" tag is often associated with Burns' name, and the Eagles knew it would be only a matter of time before he got the top job somewhere.

Now that Worsfold is gone, that 'somewhere' is set to be West Coast.

However, if for some reason Burns opts against throwing his hat into the ring, then the Eagles only have to look down the road for another solid candidate.

Peter Sumich was Worsfold's right-hand man for 10 years before linking up with Fremantle in 2011 to work under renowned coach Ross Lyon.

Like Worsfold, Sumich is fondly remembered by West Coast supporters after his glittering 150-game playing career that yielded 514 goals and two premierships.

Eagles chairman Alan Cransberg said the club will take its time to appoint its next coach, with a decision expected to be made by mid-October.

Paul Roos is already off the cards after the Sydney premiership coach signed a two-year deal with the Melbourne Demons on Friday.

But others likely to be in the mix include former Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams, Hawthorn assistant Adam Simpson, and ex-Adelaide coach Neil Craig.

Worsfold is likely to take a year out of the game before reassessing his options.

But if he does decide to jump straight back into the hot seat, then Brisbane looms as his most likely destination following the departure of Michael Voss.

Cransberg said West Coast hadn't sounded out any potential candidates before Worsfold's resignation.

"That would be very disrespectful to John if we were out there shopping around for coaches," Cransberg said.

"We had not finished our own board processes when he made his announcement.

"We are right at the start now and we will put together a process.

"I think we got it pretty right last time. We got a coach that was sensational for 12 years.

"So we'll start that process now and hopefully get just as an outstanding candidate.

"I think there will be a few people who would like to coach West Coast.

"But we're not going to talk about any names because we haven't started the process."

Worsfold didn't attend Thursday's press conference to announce his resignation, and is unlikely to make a public statement any time soon - if at all.