Simon Goodwin, just the fourth premiership coach in the fabled history of the Melbourne Demons, has been sacked with immediate effect, after a miserable 2025 campaign.
A victory over the cellar-dwelling West Coast Eagles was ultimately not enough to extend the tenure of the 2021 premiership coach, just a week after being on the wrong side of the largest overturned three-quarter-time deficit in V/AFL history.
The code's oldest club will now begin its search for its 32nd head coach, but just who is in the running?
4. Scott Burns
A well-credentialed assistant, former Collingwood captain Scott Burns looms as a 'coach-in-waiting', having completed a lengthy apprenticeship, across multiple clubs, since calling time on his playing career.
Burns currently stewards the electric Adelaide Crows forward line, whose make-up is as effective as it is distinct. Three talls, and a fleet of versatile smalls, who pinch hit in the midfield.
Before being entrusted with such firepower, he completed stints in various roles at West Coast, Collingwood, and Hawthorn, finding a new home in West Lakes before the commencement of the 2021 season.
The calibre and breadth of his assistant coaching experience, and documented forays into selection processes for other head coaching positions, paint him as a likely candidate, should the Demons opt for an as-yet-untried senior coach.
