Melbourne are a step closer to locking in their next senior coach after settling on the panel to select Simon Goodwin’s successor.
The Dees parted ways with Simon Goodwin earlier this month, making them the first and only club to currently be in the market for a new voice for 2026.
Current president Brad Green said that he and the board believed it was “time for a new voice to lead our AFL playing group and program forward”.
FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.
And now the seven-person panel to appoint the club’s next senior coach can be revealed and it has a host of familiar names included.
Current president Brad Green, incoming president Steve Smith, CEO Paul Guerra and head of football Alan Richardson are all involved, but so too is Essendon champion Jobe Watson, Director of Football at Melbourne Storm Frank Ponissi and accomplished Human Resources Executive Meahan Callaghan.
Watson played 220 games at Essendon throughout his playing career earning multiple All-Australian blazers.
Ponissi is widely regarded as one of the masterminds behind Melbourne Storm’s sustained success, having played a vital role in multiple finals series and premierships alongside coach Craig Bellamy.
Seven’s Mitch Cleary revealed an interesting “quirk” in the appointment of the panel, Ponissi was also a part of the panel that identified Richmond coach Adem Yze and was joined by Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley for the final stages of that search.
Buckley is widely regarded as the “early favourite” for the Dees job now given his experience and success at Collingwood.
It comes after former senior coaches John Longmire and Adam Simpson both ruled themselves out of the job in recent times.
The club will commence the process of finding its next senior coach immediately, with a view of making an appointment by mid-late September.
Discussion about this post