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.
Josh Carr (Port Adelaide)
Safe/Pressure building
Carr replacing Ken Hinkley as head coach of Port Adelaide at the conclusion of the 2025 season was no tough ask. Considering Hinkley was the club's longest-ever serving AFL coach, first impressions were everything for Carr towards the Power fans, but the side's struggles have shown throughout the season.
Only six wins have come for the side so far, but a season-ending injury to star Rozee and other key injuries to position players such as Aliir, Ratugolea, Powell-Pepper and Lukosius have made it even tougher.
Carr has, however, spoken on the depth of Port's list, saying it's a great opportunity to find players when injuries arise. "I see that what we're doing is we're actually finding players, and we're improving our depth by playing these guys," Carr said. "We wouldn't be in this situation with a Josh Lai and an Ewan Mackinlay and these guys and seeing that they're actually more than okay at AFL level, and for us."
Although Carr has not set the coaching world on fire this injury-riddled season, hopefully the upside to playing young players as well as getting experience back next season can point them in a good direction. While he is safe, pressure will be built quickly if he can't turn the team's struggles around.
