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Rodney Eade says he’s “bitterly disappointed” at being sacked as coach of the Western Bulldogs after seven mostly successful AFL seasons in the top job.
Bulldogs president David Smorgon informed Eade on Wednesday morning of the board’s decision not to renew his contract.
The 53-year-old is expected to be a leading contender to fill the head coaching vacancies at Adelaide or Melbourne next year.
Eade becomes the third AFL coach to be ousted in 2011, joining Adelaide’s Neil Craig and Melbourne’s Dean Bailey.
“I’m disappointed, there’s no doubt about that,” he said about the Bulldogs’ decision not to renew his contract.
“I’m not shattered or angry, but I’m certainly disappointed, I’m bitterly disappointed.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot to offer.
“… but it’s a results-driven business.
“As much as we want to talk about other factors, the W and L (win and loss) columns mean a lot.”
After reaching the preliminary final in each of the previous three seasons, the 12th-placed Bulldogs will miss out on the September action for the first time since 2007.
In addition to his seven years with the Bulldogs, Eade also coached Sydney for six-and-a-half seasons, highlighted by leading the Swans into the 1996 grand final, which they lost to North Melbourne.
The Bulldogs had intended to wait until the end of the season to make a decision on Eade’s coaching future, but brought the decision forward after a request by his manager Phil Mullen.
Smorgon said Eade had enjoyed total support from the club’s hierarchy during his time as coach.
But the president said the board decided that the club needed a new direction to take them forward for the next three to four years.
“We feel it’s time for a change, it’s time for a different approach,” said Smorgon.
“We nearly got there (to win a premiership) – it wasn’t Rodney’s fault.
“… I don’t think we need to rebuild, I think we need to refresh.
“… this is not about rebuilding in our assessment, although we’ll obviously defer to the new coach.”
Smorgon said the club had yet to discuss any possible replacements for Eade, although there would be an independent figure on the selection panel.
Chief executive Simon Garlick insisted the club had no preference on whether the new coach had a background with the Bulldogs.
Eade has previously described himself as a career coach, but said on Wednesday he had yet to decide on his preferred next move.
Eade planned to coach the Bulldogs in their remaining three home and away matches against Port Adelaide, Hawthorn and Fremantle.
But if that situation became too awkward, the club was prepared to appoint a caretaker coach to see out the season.
“Maybe my thoughts might change, I don’t know,” said Eade.
“But at the moment it’s a Wednesday and I’m in coaching mode for the weekend.”
© AAP 2012Recommend this story.
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The Crowd Says (9) | Page 1 of Comments
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- AFL, Rodney Eade, Western Bulldogs
August 17th 2011 @ 2:17pm
Baybm said | August 17th 2011 @ 2:17pm | Report comment
Eade is a good coach who has continuously (until this season) managed to get better results than the club infrastructure and list deserved….this year has been a disappointment for all concerned… But wade will learn for that and be an even better coach for it!
Good luck
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August 17th 2011 @ 2:53pm
GrantS said | August 17th 2011 @ 2:53pm | Report comment
It was on the cards and it’s an unfortunate circumstance for someone I consider to be a good coach.
I believe Eade made the right call by forcing the Bulldogs hand as now he has a shot at the coaching positions vacant.
If he had left it till the end of the year he might have missed a lucrative opportunity.
We will now have to wait and see which club picks him up. His coaching record of over 50% wins is very good but unfortunately his Finals record is not terrific.
August 17th 2011 @ 3:00pm
Ian Whitchurch said | August 17th 2011 @ 3:00pm | Report comment
Eade is a good but not great coach, and its a tough business.
My feeling is the Dogs window has shut, in any case and it is time to rebuild rather than to refresh.
August 17th 2011 @ 4:05pm
kris said | August 17th 2011 @ 4:05pm | Report comment
smorgon should be packing not rocket. rocket made the most of his playing group at all stages of coaching the dogs and his brand of attacking play made them the most exciting team in the comp when they hit full stride. i think they are still a great chance to play finals again next year with him at the helm, all their stars fit and bazza ekeing out one more year. this nut smorgon needs to buzz off. he seems to make the most bone headed decisions at the worst possible times. 15 years is too many dave. bye bye.
will never forget rocket’s first year at dogs (2005), when thier end of year form had them storming into the finals, blitzing eventual grand finalists west coast by about 80 points (?). had melbourne not limped in to finals and bombed, dogs might just have gone all the way they were so red hot.
August 17th 2011 @ 4:30pm
The Cattery said | August 17th 2011 @ 4:30pm | Report comment
At least it’s a mature parting: Eade gets to coach the final three weeks of the season, finish off his contract, and both he and club get an opportunity to think about what they do next during that period.
Seven seasons at one club with no grand final appearance is a very long time – not many would have lasted even that long.
I can remember Stan Alves taking St Kilda to a grand final in 1997, finished in the bottom half of the 8 the following year, and then he was gone!
Bomber Thompson was given a long lead period that ultimately proved fruitful for the club, but for a long time, there was little sign of what the Cats were to become.
August 17th 2011 @ 7:43pm
amazonfan said | August 17th 2011 @ 7:43pm | Report comment
Eade was a very good coach, however he wasn’t particularly great when it came time to finals. So many people talk about his having coached the Bulldogs to three preliminary finals, but the Bulldogs are at a point now where preliminary finals aren’t good enough. Ultimately he wasn’t able to deliver them a flag, or even a GF appearance, and as such they made the decision not to extend his contract, which IMO was the right decision.
I must say that I’m a little nervous. While he is an extremely good coach, especially in terms of development, I don’t know if I want him to coach Melbourne. Not only do I believe that we are in a different stage to the Bulldogs, but I really want a Clarkson/Williams/Roos/Malthouse. Which may be whom the Bulldogs want as well.
August 17th 2011 @ 11:49pm
stabpass said | August 17th 2011 @ 11:49pm | Report comment
What has become of the Dogs strong running midfield, i thought after last year that they would get top 4 this year, how wrong was i.
August 18th 2011 @ 12:08am
The Cattery said | August 18th 2011 @ 12:08am | Report comment
Heard tonight that Cooney will never again get anywhere near peak fitness, indeed, he’ll be lucky to make it to 30 years of age as an AFL player, that’s a lot of drive lost right there.
August 18th 2011 @ 5:50am
amazonfan said | August 18th 2011 @ 5:50am | Report comment
BTW, this article gets it wrong. Eade wasn’t sacked. His contract will simply not be extended. It quite annoys me as every time a coach leaves a job without choosing to resign, he is referred to as having been sacked. However that is not always the case, and it certainly not the case with Eade. As of October 1st 2011, Eade ceases being an employee of the Western Bulldogs. They may offer him another contract, or they may not, however if they do not do so, it does not mean they sacked him. Now, some might argue that Eade was sacked as the Bulldogs announced the decision early, however with three weeks left in the season, I think that’s pretty silly. Plus, Eade asked the board to bring the decision forward.
I suspect though that people like the term as it implies victimhood, however there aren’t always victims, just as there aren’t always good and bad guys. Such as in this situation.