Each year AFL coaches are either put under scrutiny or praised for what they have done with the club's list and where their side has finished at the end of the year.
Whether it's a club going through a rebuild, a premiership contender, or a side failing to fulfil expectations, here is every coach ranked as safe, pressure-building, or under the pump heading into the 2027 season.
Steven King (Melbourne)
Very safe
Following the sacking of premiership-winning coach Simon Goodwin and the appointment of Geelong assistant coach Steven King, not many gave the Demons a chance to perform well in 2026.
Multiple predictions had them finishing in the bottom four, but King has given life to the Dees faithful. Losing three of their stars in Petracca, Oliver and Steven May over the off-season, King had to transform the playing list, and younger players have stepped up massively in their absences.
Alongside being a candidate for coach of the year, former Richmond legend Matthew Richardson highlighted on 3AW Football how much King has impacted the club. “I think Steven King has to be coach of the year,” Richardson said. "To do what they have done under Steven King, it's been phenomenal."
Contracted until 2028, King has proved the doubters about Melbourne wrong and is hoping to go deep into September in the 2026 season, taking some big scalps on their way to the finals.
