Rawlings has joined the Demons after a two-year stint under Michael Voss at the Brisbane Lions.
He took charge of the Tigers for the last 11 games of 2009 after the departure of Terry Wallace and had previously coached Richmond's VFL affiliate Coburg. He will be in charge of Melbourne's back line.
Rawlings will be joined on the Melbourne coaching staff by Paul Satterley who was the senior coach of VFL team Werribee.
Satterley will be Melbourne's development forward line coach after his stint with Werribee that also involved time as the club's development coach.
He had previously coached TAC Cup team Northern Knights where he took charge of a star-studded team that included Demon defender Jack Grimes.
Other players to be drafted after being coached by Satterley are Carlton's Matthew Kreuzer, Richmond's Trent Cotchin and Essendon's Michael Hurley.
Satterley had previously been an assistant coach at TAC Cup team the Western Jets and spent time as a player with the Western Bulldogs before playing with Werribee.
Neeld said he was thrilled to have the pair join his coaching staff.
"Jade’s an experienced coach with a wealth of knowledge, and I’m certainly looking forward to working with him over the journey," Neeld told melbournefc.com.au.
"Paul comes with a strong coaching background at multiple levels, including the TAC Cup and VFL. He brings experience to our coaching group, and we welcome him on board," he said.
Rawlings played 148 games with Hawthorn, the Bulldogs and North Melbourne from 1996 to 2006.
