Adelaide Crows high-performance boss Darren Burgess is departing the club for European association football powerhouse Juventus after four seasons with the Crows, joining the Italian football club as the Director of Performance.
Burgess is set to be immediately replaced by an internationally experienced high-performance manager, Ian McKeown, who will begin in November ahead of Adelaide's pre-season.
McKeown is currently the Vice President of Athlete Performance and Wellness for the mega-NHL franchise Philadelphia Flyers.
"I've loved my time at the Crows. The football program has made significant progress, and the club is in a really strong position," Burgess said in the Crows' press release on Thursday.
"It would have been great to be around to watch this group achieve further success, but this is an outstanding opportunity, if not a once-in-a-lifetime experience for myself, my wife and children.
"I've always had a passion for the world game, and the scope of this new position is expansive and presents fresh leadership and senior executive-level challenges."
Crows Executive General Manager of Football Adam Kelly highlighted how Burgess' transparency had allowed the Crows to quickly recruit another top figure for his role upon his exit.
"Burgess has kept us abreast of the situation over recent months and by doing so has provided us with the opportunity to identify and appoint a first-class candidate to what is a crucial role," Kelly said.
"Darren is clearly a world-class operator and our players, coaches, and high-performance staff have benefited greatly from his elite standards, wealth of knowledge and experience.
"To be able to secure someone of Ian's capability, experience and character in this key role maintains our confidence in the quality of our high-performance program."
Ian McKeown returns to Adelaide, having been in Philadelphia with the Flyers since 2022, and will join the crosstown rivals of his former AFL club, Port Adelaide, where he began his high-performance career in the professional sporting scene.
McKeown was a strength and power coach at the Power between 2012 and 2013, before becoming their Head of Athletic Development for four seasons. He was then promoted to the Head of High Performance between 2017 and 2021.
"This is an opportunity that my family and I were compelled to pursue," McKeown said.
"Having worked in the AFL industry, I have always had great respect for the Adelaide Football Club and have been impressed with the progress that they have made, the quality of the people that I have been exposed to in the recruitment process, and I am excited by the opportunity that awaits us in the years ahead.
"With regard to the high-performance program, it is in a strong position with a great team of people at the club, and having worked with Darren in the past, I am sure there will be some philosophical succession in the way we do things.
"We have had an amazing experience with the Philadelphia Flyers, and I am grateful for the opportunity that was afforded to us, but we are excited to get back to Adelaide, and we look forward to immersing ourselves in the club."
