Brisbane premiership player Jonathan Brown has been left perplexed by the timing of Port Adelaide's coaching succession plan that will see Ken Hinkley hand the keys over to Josh Carr at season's end.

Carr has long been considered to replace Hinkley when the club saw fit, removing himself from other senior coaching opportunities to remain at Alberton.

Hinkley - who enters his 13th season as head coach - has made multiple preliminary finals over his tenure but has failed to take the next step, leading to an impatient fan base.

However, Brown, speaking at Tuesday's Fox Footy andย Kayo Sports 2025 AFL Season Launch, insinuated the lack of effectiveness in succession plans, stating only two have worked, notably with Paul Roos.

The three-time premiership forward alluded to Sydney's logical dealings with the coaching handover.

"Probably not," Brown said.

"They should have cut the cord in the off-season. It is hard to do that to a prelim coach so I would've thought business as usual.

"Which ones have succeeded? The two with 'Roosy' when he wanted to go on holiday.

Early pressure: Coaches edition
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 23: Power head coach Ken Hinkley walks off at at three-quarter time during the round one AFL match between the Melbourne Demons and the Port Adelaide Power at Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 23, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

"It's going to be difficult. They wouldn't want to have early losses.

"I feel for Ken Hinkley. Josh Carr is a highly-rated coach and Port Adelaide premiership player but Kenny's been a fantastic coach and he got them to a prelim final last year which puts him under enormous pressure."

Brown also believes Hinkley should be in the frame for the Tasmania Devils' top job, given he'll be available from 2026 onwards.

Fox Footyย andย Kayo Sports are set to reign supreme over the AFL landscape, hosting all nine matches with their own commentary team for the first time after securing the rights to the prime time slots.