In the last decade, only two coaches have taken over from their long-term mentors as the immediate senior coach following the latter’s departure. One successfully.
Installed as favourite with every bookmaker to take over at the Western Bulldogs next year, Leon Cameron holds the advantage of knowing the Bulldogs system and culture better than any other candidate. This is what has also restricted loyal assistants in the past.
We have seen 26 changes in the senior coach position over the last ten years. Of coaches who have spent the majority of their apprenticeship under one coach for a minimum of two years, only John Longmire has successfully taken over from his coaching mentor, Paul Roos.
The second senior coach to have done this is Matthew Primus, who spent five years as an assistant in Port Adelaide immediately after hanging up the boots. It is difficult to say he has coached successfully in the senior position.
Brett Ratten was in his first year at Carlton when he took over as caretaker before eventually winning the job, as was the case with Paul Roos in Sydney.
While most clubs have a coach-in-waiting lined up, senior coaches often leave their clubs under bad circumstances on-field. This signals to club boards that a change is needed within – and culture is often the first word which springs to mind.
Cultural change is what has limited Alan Richardson, Brenton Sanderson, Ken Hinkley, Darren Crocker and Wayne Campbell from gaining the senior coaching positions at their respective clubs when vacant.
One thing working in favour of Cameron is his move from the Bulldogs to Hawthorn at the end of 2010. Working a year under Alistair Clarkson while the Hawks are experiencing on-field success may be the difference Cameron can emphasis when he inevitably makes his presentation to the board.
From the aforementioned group of assistants, only Richardson and Hinkley have shifted clubs in a venture to better acclimatise themselves with rival systems.
The most blatant question to bring forward is whether or not the Bulldogs need a change. A double edged sword, this question is more complicated than I first thought. Taking a look at the most recent class of new coaches, Chris Scott and James Hird have significantly improved Geelong and Essendon by bringing in a new vision and a new culture.
On the flipside, Matthew Primus has never played or coached at a club beyond Port Adelaide and is struggling to handle the pressures faced off-field, which is reflecting on-field. Suggested by various media outlets, his players are not playing for him and he has damaged the club through his relationships with senior players.
Retrospectively speaking, an experienced re-building coach may have been a better option in Port Adelaide.
Beginning his playing career with the Bulldogs in 1990, Cameron went on to play 172 games off the back flank before moving to Richmond where he played a further 84 to bring his tally to 256 in 2003. Immediately after retiring, Cameron joined the coaching fraternity where he spent one year under Peter Rhode at the Bulldogs.
In 2005, Rodney Eade was appointed senior coach of the Bulldogs with whom Cameron coached alongside as senior assistant until the end of 2010.
With his name bandied around every year as a senior coach-in-waiting since 2007, Cameron has narrowly missed out on senior positions at Essendon, North Melbourne and Port Adelaide (Primus was allegedly the only serious contender).
History shows that club boards use the departure of a senior coach to implement organisational change from the top down. If the Bulldogs are in need of cultural change, Cameron is the greatest similarity to Rodney Eade and therefore not the man for the job.
Floating near the top of the coaching pool, history suggests Leon Cameron has a better chance of taking over at Melbourne or Adelaide than at the Western Bulldogs.
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