GEELONG assistant coach Brenton Sanderson has been appointed as new coach of Adelaide on a three-year deal.
Sanderson, 37, was confirmed as Neil Craig's successor on Monday afternoon, securing the role ahead of favourite Scott Burns and caretaker coach Mark Bickley.
The former Adelaide, Collingwood and Geelong player was reportedly among the final three candidates for the Western Bulldogs' coaching position.
He was also among the favourites to replace Cats premiership coach Mark Thompson when he resigned at the end of last season, but lost out to Chris Scott.
Sanderson was an assistant coach at Geelong for five seasons after a year in a development role at Port Adelaide.
He has stepped down from his role at the Cats immediately.
Crows chief executive Steven Trigg said the decision to appoint Sanderson - a member of the club's inaugural squad - had been unanimous.
"The club undertook a really exhaustive selection process and our clear conclusion is that Brenton is ready," Trigg said in a statement.
"He has the skills, experience, plans and personal qualities.
"Brenton has worked incredibly hard. He's faced a number of setbacks early on and emerged strong and successful, and in successful environments.
"There's no question of his leadership qualities."
Sanderson received ringing endorsements from current Geelong players Matthew Scarlett and James Kelly, who both said the Crows have made the right appointment with the Geelong assistant.
"He was close to getting the Geelong job last year, but missed out to Scotty. The club made the right call there, but I'm thrilled that he got a chance to go back to his home town and coach what I think is a great club," Scarlett said.
"It's fantastic for Sando. He's been awesome for us and deserves the opportunity," said Kelly
Sanderson becomes the first former Adelaide player to coach the club.
The defender from Sturt played six games for the Crows between 1992-1993 before being traded to Collingwood.
However, it was at Geelong he achieved success.
He played 199 games for the Cats from 1995-2005, winning the club's best and fairest award in 2001.
The Crows will hold a press conference to unveil their new coach at 11am on Tuesday.