The coaching caper in the AFL is no easy feat, and has seen some of the most revered figures in the sport depart on disappointing terms.
In the wake of Melbourne's sacking of Simon Goodwin, the club has appointed long-time assistant coach Troy Chaplin as the caretaker for the final three games.
Chaplin's brief tenure at the helm could be leveraged to advance his own ambition of becoming a senior coach in the league, with the upcoming matches serving as an audition for the Demons or rival clubs.
It could also, however, merely act as a stopgap, providing a familiar face for Demons players who this week saw their long-time coach depart in difficult circumstances.
Since the turn of the century, all but three (Geelong, Hawthorn and Sydney) clubs have hired an interim coach after a head coach has walked out the door mid-season.
Understandably, the perpetual success of the Cats, Hawks and Swans has seen long-term coaches Mark Thompson and Chris Scott monopolise Kardinia Park; Alastair Clarkson's four premierships were spread across 16 years, as Paul Roos and John Longmire were the pair that put the Swans firmly on the map in the AFL.
Which brings up the next point: What is the definition of a caretaker coach?
In this exercise, a caretaker coach will be defined as someone who stepped into the role during a season following the sacking of a senior coach.
Let's delve in.
Carlton
The Blues have been through a host of changes this century, and have appointed nine senior coaches for varying lengths.
Denis Pagan's stint was ended after a wretched run on the field, and he was swiftly replaced by Carlton legend Brett Ratten toward the end of 2006.
Ratten managed to hold onto the job for six more years, despite losing the final six games of the 2006 season by an average of 30 points.
Impressively, he turned the club around before being shipped off when Michael Malthouse became available.
Crossing from Collingwood 12 months after he left, Malthouse's stint was short-lived at Princes Park, and like Ratten, John Barker got the opportunity to follow a great halfway through 2015.
But the third caretaker coach at the Blues this century was questioned from the get-go, as David Teague successfully auditioned after Brendon Bolton was let go in 2019.
Teague got his career off to a flyer, defeating eventual finalists Brisbane by 15 points, and although he won six of 11 the remaining clashes in 2019, he was gone by the end of 2021.
