Former West Coast coach Adam Simpson has staunchly defended his consultancy role at Carlton, and definitively batted down the suggestion that he desires to coach the Blues.
Simpson, speaking during his weekly AFL 360 appearance, moved to detail his duties with the Blues amid external criticism of his ability to do that as well as perform in the media.
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On Monday night, Channel Seven commentators Caroline Wilson and Kane Cornes took aim at the 242-game premiership coach’s role at Princes Park.
“I hate to blame the part-timers, but I’m not a fan of part-timers at footy clubs, and one of them is Adam Simpson … how does it work that he’s a part-time mentor at Carlton, and talking about (them) on that show, when he’s there to fix that problem?” Wilson said.
Cornes added: “In all my time in football, I’ve never seen a part-timer have great success … the problem for Adam is you’re not getting his best as a media performer, because he’s not speaking honestly about the club … and they’re probably not getting the best of him at Carlton, because he’s not there full-time.”
On Wednesday night, AFL 360 co-host Garry Lyon put the topic to Simpson.
“Inevitably, you would be linked with a potential senior coaching job if things started to go pear-shaped … and as was predicted, during the week, your name was thrown and bandied around,” Lyon said on Fox Footy.
“Would you have an interest in coaching Carlton if and when this job arrived?”
Simpson then explained the specifications of his role, and even delivered a cheeky jab at the false notion that there aren’t any footy media performers who also work in clubland.
“I really enjoy the role. And it’s not a part-time role, I’m a consultant there, and I work on development plans with the assistant coaches and Vossy,” Simpson clarified on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“I’m not part of the groupthink, so if I see something, I’ll flick (Voss) a text or a bit of vision about ‘this is what I’m seeing’, and I’m someone who’s been there before. That’s the role.
“I haven’t been at the club since you guys saw me at a Geelong scratch match. So, I’m off-site a little bit; the role is the role.
“But when I went into it, I was very clear with my manager and with Graham Wright (Carlton CEO) that if I take this role, I’m not coaching Carlton. Because there’s no way you can do both.
“For right now, I’m part of Michael’s team. So, I’m not interested in anything other than trying to help Carlton in my very small role — which, apparently you can’t have two roles; no one in the media works at footy clubs, by the way …
“This particular role, I made a really clear decision — if I ever wanted to coach Carlton, I wouldn’t take this role. I’m here to try and support the current coach, not try and manipulate my way through — that would be a shocking look.”
Voss drills Carlton in BRUTAL week | 07:11
The 2018 premiership mentor said he hadn’t felt the need to talk through the situation with Voss, explaining that the dynamic wasn’t even a consideration inside the four walls.
“They (the Blues) just want to win this week. The self-importance we carry ourselves in sometimes is just misguided at clubland. They’re not interested in a lot of the things we discuss,” Simpson said.
“I’ve been criticised for maybe going too hard on the commentary around Carlton, so it’s finding that balance for me in a media point of view is important, but (it’s about) how do they win against North this week?
“That’s the number one priority that they’re thinking about; they’re not worried about perception or what’s on the outside.”
Simpson moved to give more clarity around his duties at the Blues, explaining some of his correspondence with Voss following last Sunday’s capitulation against Melbourne as an example of his duties.
“I think we’ve just got to be really clear about what the role is, if you’re not part of the groupthink. So, what happened on Sunday night is I texted him (Voss), and we had a chat about ‘Okay, what do you reckon?’” continued Simpson.
“And we’re talking through … what’s going on in second halves? So, we start looking through it, and I looked at some vision yesterday and gave him a call last night to say ‘I’m seeing this’, (and he says) ‘yep, that’s exactly what I saw, thanks for verifying my thought’.
“So, the role is based around support, but also not being a part of the groupthink … so, that’s the role, and then the actual position, it’s really not part of what we’re talking about.”
Rounding off the discussion, Simpson declared the idea that he would accept a supporting role at the Blues only to aim to eventually try and take over as senior coach was a “ridiculous” conversation.
“It’s a little bit insulting, but I understand the questioning,” he said.
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