While plenty of familiar names continue to dominate the AFL coaching discussion, one name that hasn't been spoken about nearly enough is Darren Crocker.
Crocker has been involved in AFL coaching for close to 30 years, yet he has never been given the opportunity to lead an AFL club as a permanent senior coach. When you look at his resumé, it's hard to argue that he isn't one of the most qualified candidates available.
The biggest argument in Crocker's favour is he knows how to build a winning culture.
Since taking over North Melbourne's AFLW program in 2021, Crocker has transformed the Kangaroos into the benchmark of the competition.
His side has won back-to-back premierships and is currently on an extraordinary 28-game winning streak spanning multiple seasons. Winning one premiership is impressive. Creating a program that expects to win every week is something entirely different, and that's exactly what Crocker has achieved.
Granted, there will always be speculation about whether successful coaching in the AFLW competition can translate to coaching an AFL side. Some people will immediately dismiss his case because his recent success has come in the women's game. But that argument ignores the bigger picture.
Coaching is about far more than drawing magnets on a whiteboard. It's about creating standards, developing players, building trust, holding people accountable and getting the very best out of a group over a long period of time. Those skills don't suddenly disappear because the gender of the competition changes.
It's also worth remembering that Crocker's coaching experience isn't limited to AFLW. Before taking charge of North Melbourne's women's program, he spent years as an assistant coach in the AFL system, including roles with North Melbourne and Richmond, along with significant experience in player development and as a caretaker coach on three occasions for the Kangaroos. He has seen football from almost every angle possible and understands what successful AFL environments look like.
After what can be described as an abysmal performance from Essendon against the Lions at the Gabba, the conversation around who will take over as the Bombers' next senior coach is just about all Bomber fans have to look forward to at the moment.
Essendon has long been crying out for genuine change. For years the club has searched for the answer, changing coaches, changing football managers and changing assistants, yet the results have largely stayed the same, if not gotten worse. There have been moments of optimism, but sustained success has remained frustratingly out of reach for Bombers fans such as myself.
That's why it's difficult to get excited about simply recycling another familiar name.
James Hird and Dean Solomon are both respected football coaches, but neither appointment would represent the fresh start many supporters believe the club needs. Whether fair or unfair, both are already linked to previous eras at Essendon, and the Bombers have spent too long looking backwards instead of looking forward.
What the club needs isn't the biggest name; it needs the best leader. Modern AFL coaching is no longer just about match-day tactics. The best senior coaches create environments where players improve, assistant coaches thrive, and high standards become non-negotiable. Crocker has shown he can do exactly that.
Another strength in his favour is his ability to develop talent. Essendon's current list is still one that requires significant growth but has an extremely bright future. The Bombers don't simply need someone to move magnets on a Saturday afternoon; they need someone who can improve players every day of the week.
Crocker's background in development coaching suggests he could be exactly the type of leader required to guide the club's next generation.
Winning culture is something that has been missing at Tullamarine for far too long. Bringing in someone who has recently built one from the ground up shouldn't be overlooked simply because he isn't the headline candidate.
Appointing Darren Crocker would undoubtedly be viewed by some as a bold choice. Yet the history of AFL coaching is full of appointments that were initially questioned before proving the doubters wrong
The questions around Crocker shouldn't be whether he moves from the women's game to the men's game. It's whether his experience, leadership, ability to develop players and proven record of building successful football programs align with what the club truly needs.
If the answer is yes, then he deserves to be far more than an outside chance. He deserves to be one of the leading candidates to become the next senior coach of the Essendon Football Club.
