The West Coast Eagles have officially parted ways with long-time senior coach Adam Simpson.
It puts an end to his 11-year tenure as coach, having led the club to two grand finals — including the 2018 premiership — with West Coast on a gradual decline since including a horror run in recent years — going 8-53 since 2022.
Assistant coach Jarrad Schofield will be the interim boss for at least the next six games, with Simpson yet to make a call on whether he’ll coach on Sunday against Brisbane.
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REACTION: ‘It wasn’t fair on him in the end’: AFL reacts as West Coast coach Adam Simpson departs
‘We haven’t made that call yet Pykey’ | 01:01
“The last three years have been tough on the club and tough on Adam,” Eagles CEO Don Pyke said.
“It was time for change and a refresh of our program … he had no more to give and we reached this (decision) in a mutual space.”
Simpson said he felt the time was right for him to depart after giving his all to the role.
“This has been a massive part of me and my family’s life, this football club. We fell in love with the place straight away and the people in particular,” he said.
“I’ve had tremendous leaders around me and of course the players and what they’ve given from the very beginning, it just felt like everyone had my back from the first day.
“It was a fantastic journey and one of which I’m very proud of.”
He conceded the last three years has been “difficult” and that he wasn’t sure what his future held but that “still has passion for the game”.
“I probably need a break, to be honest. The sense of relief and sadness is probably what I feel at the moment,” he said.
Despite being contracted until 2025, the 48-year old acknowledged the decision didn’t come as a surprise, particularly after last year’s 18th-placed finish.
‘There’s guys who’ll say thank god’ | 01:29
Simpson held conversations with the club on Monday night about where he stood leading into Tuesday’s board meeting.
“There’s no conspiracy theory, I sometimes think people think there’s these big secret meetings. We’re pretty open and honest, there’s not much deception,” he added.
Simpson said there was “mixed emotions” from the playing group, but believes the majority of it would’ve seen it coming.
“I don’t know how shocked everyone is to be honest, there’s been a fair bit of tension in the last couple of years, in particular the last few weeks,” he said.
“I’m sure everyone will be feeling different. There’s eight or nine premiership players, guys who have just been drafted and guys who would probably say: ‘Thank god.’
“We’ll move on pretty quick, this will come and go.”
Eagles tipped to sack Simpson | 01:25
He said the club had built a “united” family culture before being hit by the Covid-19 pandemic throughout 2020 to 2021 that caused it to get “thrown out of whack” including unearthing to-up players he “hadn’t even met until game day”.
“I feel like those two years were difficult from a performance point of view, but I felt I had to lead as best as I could. We got some growth from it, I found out a bit about myself and our group,” Simpson said.
He cheekily added: “A bit worse than ‘18, yeah, absolutely.”
That 2018 Grand Final win over Collingwood remains the clear pinnacle of his time in charge of the club he labelled “the best in the league”.
“It was a fantastic moment in time for us. You don’t want your identity connected to premierships, but our players and what they went through that year,” he said.
“To lose a few players, really feel for Andrew Gaff, ‘Shep’ (Brad Sheppard), Eric Mackenzie and Nic Natanui, who were a big part of that year.
“To see the guys win a premiership and our supporters, it was such a good time. I can’t wait for the 10-year reunion.”
The Eagles released a statement earlier on Monday: “The West Coast Eagles and senior coach Adam Simpson have mutually agreed that his 11-year tenure at the club will come to an end.”
“Simpson, one of only six senior coaches in the 37-year history of the club and one of only three to lead the club to premiership glory, achieved the ultimate success in 2018 to join Michael Malthouse (1992, 1994) and John Worsfold (2006) in bringing the cup to WA.”
Rumours swirled around Simpson’s future ahead of a scheduled board meeting on Monday. The Eagles also cancelled a scheduled Tim Kelly press conference later on Monday, just before the star midfielder was due to come, given the current circumstances surrounding the club.
Reports first emerged over the weekend that West Coast could look to part ways with Simpson, who’s contracted until the end of 2025, amid player unrest at the club.
The Eagles dropped a sixth-straight game on Monday to fall to 3-13.
It follows multiple reports on Monday night that stated Simpson was nearing the end of the road at the Eagles and that a parting of ways would be imminent, despite facing a subsequent payout of close to seven figures.
Simpson departs after 230 AFL games as coach — including 12 finals — since taking over the role from John Worsfold in 2014, with a 50.62 win rate over that span.
Source Agencies
