West Coast premiership coach Adam Simpson says the split down the competition between the "haves and the have-nots" makes it really difficult to entice him back into the AFL.
Simpson has been linked to jobs at Carlton and Tasmania, but he says that the lack of a winning desire makes it hard to turn that into a coaching aspiration.
"I think if you miss winning… and I haven't missed winning yet," Simpson said on The Howie Games podcast.
"I'm a reasonably competitive person, and that's part of my DNA: to want to win everything. I don't have that same desire to win. I look at the comp and the ‘haves' and the ‘have-nots' have never been bigger.
"At 38, I thought, ‘Put me anywhere and I'll make a difference', I don't have the same [belief] now, you have to be strategic about your next move. It just looks really hard, and I don't miss winning yet… if that changes, I'll reassess, but I'm enjoying the new connection with the industry."
Simpson's time at West Coast came to a close midway through 2024 after a successful 10-year stint, and he has enjoyed roles in the media ever since.
The former North Melbourne player joined Carlton in a consultancy role over the most recent off-season, which heeded speculation of a return if a return is on the cards, as immense pressure continues to mount on Michael Voss.
Simpson moved to clarify his position at the Blues earlier this month.
"I really enjoy the role. And it's not a part-time role, I'm a consultant there, and I work on development plans with the assistant coaches and Vossy," Simpson clarified on Fox Footy's AFL 360.
"I'm not part of the groupthink, so if I see something, I'll flick (Voss) a text or a bit of vision about ‘this is what I'm seeing', and I'm someone who's been there before. That's the role.
"I haven't been at the club since you guys saw me at a Geelong scratch match. So, I'm off-site a little bit; the role is the role.
"But when I went into it, I was very clear with my manager and with Graham Wright (Carlton CEO) that if I take this role, I'm not coaching Carlton. Because there's no way you can do both.
"For right now, I'm part of Michael's team. So, I'm not interested in anything other than trying to help Carlton in my very small role — which, apparently, you can't have two roles; no one in the media works at footy clubs, by the way …
"This particular role, I made a really clear decision — if I ever wanted to coach Carlton, I wouldn't take this role. I'm here to try and support the current coach, not try and manipulate my way through — that would be a shocking look."
