'Really appreciative': Adam Simpson's kind gesture to new Eagles coach revealed

New West Coast Eagles coach Andrew McQualter has opened up on the interview process behind his new role and his appreciation towards Adam Simpson's kind gesture after he was appointed.

McQualter, who will join forces with Eagles legend John Worsfold, is faced with the role of rebuilding the club from also-rans to finals contenders after Simpson's 10-year stint ended mid-season.

The Eagles have been on a sharp decline since their last finals appearance in 2020, finishing ninth, 17th, 18th and 16th.

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McQualter was appointed as head coach in late September, as the Eagles embark on a new era.

Speaking to Triple M, the 38-year-old revealed Simpson was one of the first to reach out.

"He sent me a text out of the blue which I was really appreciative of, I've never met him," he said.

"I'm hopeful at some stage I'll be able to catch up with him."

McQualter added the players also spoke to him, including the prodigious Harley Reid.

"All the players are on break at the moment but lots of them have reached out," he said.

"If they want a game in round one that's what they've got to do," he jokingly added.

Former Australian cricket coach Justin Langer was one man who was part of the interview process in his role on the West Coast board.

McQualter gave some insight into his chat with the former Test opener.

"He came in right at the last interview," he said.

"He did (ask some questions), more so about leadership and management and that side of things and then I had a great chat with him over at the women's game."

The new coach comes to the Eagles off the back of assistant roles at Richmond and Melbourne, having previously played with St Kilda and the Gold Coast.

His time at Richmond coincided with three premierships while he was also caretaker when Damien Hardwick departed. McQualter moved to Melbourne last season after Adam Yze took over at Richmond.

The former Saints and Suns forward said he'll be hoping to blend both experiences together in his role at the Eagles.

"A mixture of the Tigers during that era where I was there and certainly some stuff I learnt at the Dees as well, more so on the defensive side of the ball," he said.

"So the aim is we look like both of those combined which would be a pretty good team.

"We'll work through that, we're certainly going to play a lot more faster than West Coast have and try and utilise our big guys ahead of the ball because there's a few key forwards in the team that can be really good."