Melbourne’s decision to part ways with Simon Goodwin is the first big coaching domino to fall in 2025 in a move with wider repercussions on the competition.
And it continues a line of key changes at the Demons as they commit to a new direction ahead of a potentially busy and defining off-season for the club as the fate of several stars hangs in the balance.
But it’s the first truly significant move that shows this football club isn’t happy with its direction.
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Change is afoot at Melbourne after the sacking of Goodwin with a year to run on his contract after a gradual decline since that historic 2021 premiership including tumbling out of finals contention in recent seasons.
It comes 12 months on from the departures of former president Kate Roffey and CEO Gary Pert as the Dees turn a page from that golden run at the start of the decade.
And as Melbourne moves into a new era, it’s now officially the first club in the coaching market. You have to wonder how much that played a part in the timing of Goodwin’s dismissal, which is perhaps the most surprising element of the call after a nine-year tenure.
Port Adelaide is in the process of a coaching handover from Ken Hinkley to Josh Carr, but there’s currently no other vacancies in the league.
So the Dees now get first crack at prospective candidates in a year where there’s some big names out there, including premiership coaches John Longmire and Adam Simpson.
It puts pressure on the only other club that’s on watch with an under-pressure coach: Carlton.
Michael Voss is the coach who’s come under the most pressure in 2025 after the Blues have also fallen down the ladder, despite having premiership aspirations going into the season with a star-studded list.
There’s a view that the Blues are waiting until the off-season to make a decision on Voss’ fate as incoming chief executive Graham Wright gets his feet under the desk.
It’s a matter of how much, not if, there will be change at Ikon Park ahead of an eventful few months for the club.
And a call on Voss has suddenly become more urgent given the Dees officially have a headstart on assessing the coaching market as they set out to elect their new senior boss for 2026.
Outside of Carlton, North Melbourne still seems committed to Alastair Clarkson despite little, if any, progress in year three under the three-time premiership coach.
Justin Longmuir has led Fremantle to the best record of any since Round 10 and a likely finals campaign, unless things go horribly wrong, despite the Dockers coach at times coming under heat.
And Luke Beveridge did enough to earn a two-year extension at the Western Bulldogs in June to tie him to Whitten Oval until 2027.
Hard to see any other clubs moving on their coach, putting Melbourne in position A to get what it sees as the best candidate to lead it into the future.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR DEES’ OFF-SEASON
It’s no secret that there’s been a level of uncertainty around the fate of several high-profile Demons amid talk of stars being disenchanted. Improving the culture was such a big focus last off-season.
This time 12 months ago, Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver were both linked to trades, before ultimately staying put. The likes of Bayley Fritsch and Jake Lever have also come up in trade whispers in 2025. Melbourne has at least locked away arguably its most important piece in earlier this year re-signing Kysaiah Pickett until 2034 despite the lure of a move to Fremantle.
So how does the departure of Goodwin affect the bigger picture of Melbourne’s list with the potential to shake things up?
Foxfooty.com.au reported last month clubs were watching Melbourne and what potential moves it could make this off-season as arguably the most fascinating team this summer.
Demons sack Simon Goodwin! | 04:23
It was essentially too hard for Petracca to get out of Melbourne last year, and you have to wonder what the Norm Smith medallist is thinking after another disappointing season amid a recent link to Hawthorn.
Kangaroos legend David King suggested a Petracca-Demons split could be a win-win for both parties.
“I think they have to step on the gas on the rebuild,” King said on Fox Footy’s The First Crack.
“Sometimes the best result for Melbourne is saying: ‘You’ve been great for us and we’re going to make a decision good for both of us. We’re amicable, but we have to part company. You have to go get us some high-end picks in and let us be aggressive going forward’.
“Try and give what’s left here an opportunity to win while they’re old.”
Oliver’s situation is slightly more complicated given the midfielder’s regression from his superstar heights, despite being on a mega contract worth north of $1 million until 2030. The 28-year old’s failed trade to Geelong last trade period was largely because his lucrative salary proved too hard to move, while the market for Oliver appears to have dried up.
The fate of Petracca and Oliver would be the most intriguing as two of the poster boys of the club’s recent success.
It’s not as if the Demons have been completely wedded to what worked in the past though and trying to maximise its window with this group amid a retool on the run. There’s clearly been a transition of the list in recent years in prioritising youth over using draft capital to acquire big names on the trade market.
It includes the Demons landing the likes of Harvey Langford, Xavier Lindsay, Caleb Windsor, Koltyn Tholstrup, Matthew Jefferson and Jacob van Rooyen with top 20 picks in recent years and balancing that mix with their premiership stars like Petracca, Oliver, Max Gawn, Jack Viney, Lever and Steveb May to bridge the gap between this era and next.
So the decision to move on from Goodwin could be seen in two ways. The club still really likes its list and thinks it can still preserve what it has to try and make another run with a freshen up and change in the coaching role. Or to really turn a page on its golden run and detach itself from the idea that this team is still capable of contending, the coach needed to go.
You sense a club that axed its coach with a 7-13 record still rates its side and wants to have another crack with the majority of this list still intact. Goodwin saying he thinks the current group is closer than people think in his departing press conference hints at as much if that’s been the plan behind the scenes.
Given some players have reportedly been unhappy, Goodwin staying might’ve actually led to more stars wanting out if they’ve turned on their coach. So the decision to remove Goodwin might be about player retention, not the contrary.
And maybe a fresh voice is exactly what’s needed for a shot in the arm to revive this fallen contender for a quick turnaround, like we’ve seen with the likes of Collingwood and GWS under Craig McRae and Adam Kingsley respectively.
Of course, the jury is still out on their young players, so there’s logic in preserving a side with multiple All-Australians, while still maintaining a secondary timeline with young players. The traditional rebuild is largely seen as obsolete given the importance of trade and free agency, so no club should want to put all its eggs in one basket.
That doesn’t preclude the possibility of Melbourne still losing one or two key names. Or the possibility that the Dees go after a gun key forward they’ve long sought after, despite not having a fist-round pick this year after a swap with Essendon.
They made a bold play for Brisbane’s Logan Morris, while Carlton’s Harry McKay’s name has also been linked to Melbourne. It’s hard to sell the vision right now though, and we know the club’s bid for Dan Houston last year was torpedoed by how unsettled things were off field.
It’s worth noting that high-end picks in the 2025 and 2027 drafts are seen as less valuable given they’re compromised by Academy selections and Tasmania’s looming AFL entry.
So if the Dees did want to stock up on picks, the 2026 draft might be the best option.
As for what happens from here, you get the feeling everything is on the table, if it wasn’t already,
Further complicating things is the unknown of who’s pulling the strings given the club is in a transition with both its president and CEO roles, with Steve Smith and Paul Guerra set to take the helm later this year, while football boss Alan Richardson’s future isn’t certain either.
Whatever way you look at it, Goodwin’s departure is a a resetting of the deck chairs after a feeling of sameness for a side he’s led since 2017.
It’s going to be a different looking Melbourne in 2026. We’ll soon find out just how different.
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