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The Adelaide Crows have sacked Brenton Sanderson as coach of the AFL club.
Sanderson, who had coached Adelaide since 2012, was axed after a review of the club’s football operations.
After his first year at the helm, Sanderson was viewed as one the competitions best coaches, leading his side to an unlikely preliminary final against Hawthorn.
In 2013 the Crows dropped away, finishing the season with just the 10 wins and 12 losses in 11th place.
Well poised for a finals berth in 2014, the Crows stumbled through a key patch of games, finishing the season in 10th with an 11-11 record.
“Brenton is a quality person and accomplished coach but recent weeks have unearthed a need for change,” Crows chairman Rob Chapman said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Both parties have realised they have different perspectives on where we are at as a footy team.
“It is a tough decision but one the club feels pushes us closer to realising our ambitions.”
Sanderson took Adelaide to the finals in his first season but missed the play-offs in the past two years.
The 40-year-old initially signed a three-year contract to coach the Crows.
The deal was extended last December, tying him to Adelaide until the end of the 2016 season.
Crows players reportedly heavily criticised Sanderson and some of his assistant coaches in post-season interviews.
The surprise sacking comes just two days after the Crows appointed a new chief executive officer, former rugby union official Andrew Fagan.
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