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?
8. Troy Chaplin
The man charged with interim coaching duties in Goodwin's stead is offensive co-ordinator Troy Chaplin. History is littered with interim coaches eventually being promoted to the the role in a full-time capacity, but this scenario presents as one where that sequence of events may not occur.
Impotent offence has been the bugbear of Demons faithful for years. Promoting the man responsible for this phase of play to the top job reads as a move too lateral in these circumstances.
However, his candidacy, after a decade in the program, is legitimate. Should Melbourne surprise decision makers in their last three fixtures, Chaplin shapes as a bolter in this race.
