Why club great pulled out of Kangaroos coaching race
North Melbourne great Adam Simpson has ruled himself out for the vacant Kangaroos head coaching job.
Simpson, who coached West Coast to a premiership in 2018, had preliminary talks with North Melbourne footy boss Todd Viney and chief executive Jennifer Watt.
Adam Simpson during his time as West Coast coach. Getty Images
But the 50-year-old revealed on SEN on Thursday that he wouldn’t be chasing the role vacated by sacked legendary coach Alastair Clarkson.
“I’m not going to take it any further,” Simpson said.
“I had a good chat with Todd and Jen the other day, which was reported which is fine, and just upon reflection it’s probably not going to work for me.
“I let them know yesterday and I’ll let them continue on with their journey.
“Whether they get an old or new [coach], that’s totally up to North Melbourne.”
Simpson played 306 games for North, winning premierships in 1996 and 1999.
He also won the club’s best and fairest award in 2002 and captained the Kangaroos from 2004-2008.
He admitted the thought of taking charge at his former club was attractive.
“Once you’re in, you’re all in,” he said.
“That was the hesitancy of it all.
“To go through where the club is, my history with the club, knowing some people there, having that thought, ‘Geez, this would be cool’, and starting the process.
“Then I realised in the end it probably didn’t suit me as well as I thought it did, and then the decision was made, [and I] didn’t have to go all in.
Adam Simpson during his Roos days. The Age
“I was on the precipice and that doesn’t mean you get the job or anything, but once you’re in, you’re in.
“So I worked through that as best I could with the family and with my manager, so then we got to the decision to pass.”
Simpson was West Coast’s coach from 2014 until midway through 2024, when he was sacked amid a horror stretch of results.
He coached the Eagles to their fourth premiership in 2018.
