Former Brisbane coach and Richmond assistant Justin Leppitsch has been approached by both Carlton and Collingwood to bolster their assistant coaching stocks, according to Age reporter Sam McClure.
After being fired from Brisbane after guiding them through their early 2010s rebuild, Leppitsch went on to become an integral member of the Tigers' coaching staff through their past three premierships.
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Despite having personal and team success at Richmond, he opted to step away from football at the end of 2020.
Leppitsch responded to the report on SEN radio, saying his football future is still very much up in the air.
โIโm going to have many conversations about, not even just football, but business and other aspects of my life where my long-term future lies, so thatโs not going to change from now until the end of the year," he said on SENโs Whateley.
โMy decision to go back to the game isnโt 100 per cent yet.
โIf you asked me if I had to turn up for work tomorrow what my answer would be, it would probably be no.
โThatโs as simple as it is regardless of whatโs happening outside of that.
โPeople have got to remember, I left the game for a reason and youโve got to come back for a reason, so thereโs a lot to it."
"I think that they're looking at him."@sam_mcclure says that Carlton and Collingwood are both looking at Justin Leppitsch for various roles at both clubs#9FootyClassified | Watch @channel9 pic.twitter.com/sggKXJj2L7
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) May 17, 2021
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McClure reported that Carlton have expressed major interest, with Head of Football Brad Lloyd approaching Leppitsch to be a senior assistant under David Teague.
The Blues also reportedly unknowingly separately reached out about replacing Chris Judd as the football director for Carlton's board.
โAll in all, I think theyโre going okay and are relatively competitive.โ
The tweaks Justin Leppitsch would like to see Carlton make | https://t.co/EDW2F019W0 | #AFL pic.twitter.com/AY9upKR7uH
— SEN 1116 (@1116sen) May 11, 2021
Meanwhile, Collingwood have interest in bringing Leppitsch as a senior assistant to Nathan Buckley in 2022.
Despite a disappointing start to the 2021 season, Collingwood is expected to re-sign Buckley through the 2022 season.
Given both clubs' poor start to the season, the coaching seats are starting to heat up for both Teague and Buckley.
It appears that both clubs are searching for a respected senior assistant capable of taking the reigns if their teams continue to underperform.
