Football Central
Clarko's
Crew
When it comes to hiring a new senior coach, you can go very wrong. Mark Neeld from Melbourne is a perfect example of a coaching flop. However, there have been several good choices too. What is the common denominator between them?
The answer is simple. They were all Alastair Clarkson's assistant coaches. Ever since the first Clarkson apprentice, Damien Hardwick, became a senior coach, there have been 14 first-time coaches entering clubs that missed the finals the previous year. Including Hardwick, five of these were once and the eye of Clarkson, and not one has failed.
All five former Hawthorn assistants still remain at their clubs. All had an improvement on their predecessors final year in terms of wins, with an average 148% increase. These numbers are gobsmacking, and you would think it would give clubs looking for a new coach a hint of what to do.
Which current Hawthorn assistants fit the criteria? There is Chris Fagan, Damien Carroll, Adem Yze, Cam Bruce, David Rath and Damian Monkhorst. The other person is Brett Ratten, who has coached Carlton but appears to be the leading candidate if a Hawks assitant were to pick up a senior coaching post.
The Numbers:
