Poach coach? Make it fair tradeGreg Baum
The Age
March 28, 2012AFL clubs could trade for coaches as National Football League clubs do in the US under a suggestion made by Richmond coach Damien Hardwick.
Increasing traffic in assistant coaches, some of whom break contracts, is a concern for the AFL. Last week, chief executive Andrew Demetriou proposed a system of fines for clubs who poach coaches.
But Hardwick suggested carrot instead of stick. ''If, for example, we wanted to go and get Sean Wellman from Essendon, who's under contract, we'd have to trade with Essendon,'' he said. ''You'd trade a draft pick. If you liked a coach that much, you'd say, 'here's our second-round draft pick'.
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''That's something I think the AFL could possibly look at. The main thing is that it would give adequate compensation to a side for the loss of a coach. If you want a coach badly enough, and you're prepared to trade a first-round draft pick, good luck to you.''
Hardwick said there was an irregular trade in coaches in professional sport in the US, particularly the NFL. In the most famous case, in 2002, the Oakland Raiders traded their head coach, Jon Gruden, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a range of draft picks, including Tampa's first-round picks for the next two seasons. There was also a cash payment.
In baseball, several managers have been exchanged for draft picks. In 1994, the Chicago Cubs traded a fringe pitcher to the Minnesota Twins for their general manager, who became president and chief executive of the Cubs. That is equivalent to Geelong doing a trade for always-in-demand chief executive Brian Cook.
But Hardwick said that, contract or not, he would not stand in the way of an assistant who applied for the senior job at another club.
''I think that's fine,'' he said. ''You cannot begrudge anyone who tries to get a senior job.'' After all, that was him two years ago, when he left Hawthorn to take over at Richmond.
Last season, Collingwood assistant coach Mark Neeld and Geelong assistant Brenton Sanderson accepted positions as head coach at other clubs before the grand final. Between seasons, at the urging of Collingwood chief executive Gary Pert, the AFL set up a working party to look at possible restraints. AFL integrity officer Brett Clothier is in the party.
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