Season 2026 could be a year of reckoning for seven AFL coaches.
Whether it be pushing for premiership success, finals contention or improving on the year before, it could be argued that a critical juncture has been reached.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge is perpetually in the coaches under pressure column, while time is running out for Alastair Clarkson at North Melbourne.
Fremantle enjoyed a return to finals, but with their list, expectations will deem them ready for a maiden flag.
But leading one of the Victorian powerhouse clubs comes with its own stress, and nowhere to hide.
Here are SEVEN coaches that will feel the heat leading into the 2026 season (in no particular order)...
4Justin Longmuir (Fremantle)
Ongoing employment agreement
The intrigue around Longmuir's future at Fremantle was enhanced when the club changed his contract status from a fixed term to an "ongoing employment agreement".
The Dockers have been starved of success during his tenure, which began in 2020. It has seen two finals series and only one win in September.
But the stacked WA club has all the pieces to a premiership, with arguably the best midfield group in the competition, supported by a top-seven defence and a developing forward group with plenty of promise.
Fremantle took strides towards genuine premiership contention, knocking off Gold Coast (away), Collingwood, Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs in a do-or-die contest, helping build belief in 2026.
Longmuir must find a way to translate the experience of 2025 into more success, or face an uncertain future with multiple coaching aspirants lingering in the shadows.
