For three years, Paul Roos has not been able to escape media speculation when new coaching appointments are forced at the end of each AFL season.
But with three years out of the game, perhaps he is no longer the best on the market.
To be out of AFL coaching for three years, Roos has been missing from the inner sanctum of a football club while the game has evolved faster than ever.
Australian football is no longer the same game it was in 2010 when Roos gave the game away to spend more time with his family.
Due to the success he achieved in Sydney, he is subversively hailed the messiah of football. It’s a position others have found themselves in and failed to live up to expectation.
Terry Wallace was a revered coach back in the late 90’s when he was at the helm of the Western Bulldogs. He did an excellent job in rebuilding the team and made them competitive in his second season at the club.
He resigned from the Bulldogs towards the end of the 2002 season but was still respected. He was believed to be in line for the vacant Sydney senior coach role but an alleged gentleman’s agreement was broken when Paul Roos was appointed.
Wallace had no shortage of work and jumped straight into a prominent media role as an analyst across various platforms. During his two years out of the game, people listened to him when he spoke.
So influential was he within the football community, he was offered the Richmond coaching job from the 2005 season onwards.
They signed him to a five year deal thinking he was Richmond’s savior. He stuck to his guns which proved successful a decade ago but he pretty much took the club backwards. They played slow football and he was a big part of their recruitment failures.
It would take a considerable amount of money to convince Roos to give up his media and family life and return to the coaches box.
He would have to be one of the top paid coaches to do so and gambling on a guy who has not coached in three years is fraught with danger.
So long as Roos has been in the media and quizzed about his involvement in vacant senior coaching roles around the league, he had denied interest. Voicing his content as a family man, his family-first priorities would be reassessed when his oldest son finishes high school.
Tyler Roos will sit his final exams this year, in around four months time.
While this is no guarantee Roos will return to the senior coaching ranks, he will be the most chased man amongst football general managers.
Under Roos’ the Swans played football which got them results. It even took them to consecutive Grand Finals for one win. In eight seasons as senior coach, his team missed the finals on just once occasion.
The key to Sydney’s game plan under Roos was just about the complete opposite of the successful Geelong game plan of the past five year.
Where Geelong have focused on quick movement through the corridor, the Swans played unattractive football which at one point led to criticism from AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou.
Under Roos guidance, it was all about maintaining possession and tackling pressure around contests. There was no such thing as too much congestion around the ball for Roos who coached his players to tire opponents through fierce tackling rather than running them off their legs.
It was painstaking to watch at times – but it worked.
In the Swans 2005 premiership year, the Swans were the lowest scoring team amongst those that made the finals.
During the three years that Roos has been out of the game, the AFL has made so many rule changes making the game unrecognisable amongst older generations. Players have even come out over the past few weeks voicing the lack of understanding of changes to the rules.
Just about every rule introduced is designed so that the Paul Roos style of football never comes back into the game.
Three years on from when Roos left the game, only four players are allowed inside the centre square at bounces. The figure was unlimited prior but the change was made to avoid congestion around the centre square.
Ruckman are no longer allowed to engage in wrestling contests until the ball leaves the umpires hand.
Roos loved his ruckman and under the Sydney game plan, they forced more stoppages than any other team. It allowed his two-pronged ruck attack to tire the opposition who were forced to ruck beyond their normal capacity.
These days, they key to ruckman is aerobic capacity and those who can cover the ground to get to contests are valued much more than those with a body presence. In conjunction with the substitute rule, teams now rarely play two ruckman.
John Worsfold, and to a lesser extent Kevin Sheedy, are both senior AFL coaches out of contract at the end of the year. Like Roos, both are premiership winning coaches but both are more familiar with the current game than Roos.
The game is not what it was in 2010 when Paul Roos stepped away from the game. Therefore, questions must linger over whether he can be the messiah for any struggling team.
Dale Hughes
Guest
Paul Roos will coach Demons because he sees the potential in our list Jesse Hogan will be a star
Jax
Guest
Roos still has the ability to successfully coach if he has the desire, no doubt about that! I can't see him taking the Dees job though!
EddyJ
Guest
What a mind-boggling statement: "I would consider Paul Roos to be a very over-rated coach." Surely you're saying this to get a reaction. Check out these statistics: 1. Coached 202 games, for a 57% win rate. 2. Coached Sydney to the finals in every full season from 2003–2010, except for 2009. 3. Won a premiership in 2005, and almost backed it up with another in 2006 (lost the grand final by 1 point). And you say over-rated? Are there any other over-rated premiership coaches that you would like to mention? As Kevin Sheedy once said, it's hard enough to win just one game of AFL, let alone a premiership. Where's your facts to back the statement that the Sydney game plan was Ross Lyon's brainchild alone? And how should he have referred to his players? 'Master Goodes’, 'Master Kirk'?, just like a schoolteacher? You might have hated that style of game, but it was highly successful, wasn't it? Premiership teams are based on strong defence, and Roos was right to pursue a strategy of defence.
Bill Larkin
Guest
Roos played with Lyon, and coached with him in Sydney, but didn't coach him. More to the point though, at the top level the biggest attribute of a coach is man management skills. Roos had that in spades, and still does in my opinion. Do you know who I think would be a terrific AFL coach? Craig Bellamy. He would get the best out of every player. Assistant coaches would provide the tactical expertise.
Slane
Guest
+1
Brad
Guest
Mike Pyke may not be a lock for All-Australian, but you have to admit he's one of the best ruckman going around at the moment.
Jack Smith
Roar Guru
Yeah mate. The only coach to give Sydney their first premiership in 72 years, and then the mentor of the same man who leads them to their second in 79 years is overrated. The same man who coached the current coach of Fremantle, who was successful at St Kilda. How do you know the style was Lyon's brainchild? Roos was a backman, and he as such focuses on defence. Longmire, has been able to add more attack after being a forward. See the connection? Lyon would have helped with tackling. The three together were a force to be reckoned with. "the way Roos referred to his players as ‘Goodesy’ or ‘Kirky’ or ‘Macca’ or ‘Hally’. Not the way for a senior coach to refer to players even if they did have a great relationship and respect for one another" . Why is that bad? They have a great respect for each other and Roos got what he wanted out of the players. Surely 7/8 finals campaigns proves Roos got what he wanted out of his players. Roos was a great coach and his achievements don't lie. John Longmire however, I believe may have a bigger legacy left after coaching...
BigAl
Guest
Strongly disagree with you about Roos as a coach - the legacy he has left with the success of the Swans, Longmire and Lyon are testament to his quality as a coach! However, I sympathise with you on the way he referred to players - but I think it 's 'un Australian' if you don't do that isn't it ?
BigAl
Guest
so true !
Andy_Roo
Roar Guru
Alfred, Firstly you will find that only four players have been allowed in the square for centre bounces for at least thirty years, or as long as I have followed the game. Secondly I don't think Paul Roos can take the credit for the Sydney Swans success. The game plan that took Sydney to premierships in '05 and '06 was largely Ross Lyon's brainchild. Maintaining possession, constantly kicking backward to transfer play to the other flank, only kicking long to a contest as a last resort. I hated that style of play and still do. John Longmire has retained the defensive tackling pressure and added a more attacking offensive side to the Swans game. And it always irked me the way Roos referred to his players as 'Goodesy' or 'Kirky' or 'Macca' or 'Hally'. Not the way for a senior coach to refer to players even if they did have a great relationship and respect for one another. I would consider Paul Roos to be a very over-rated coach.
doubledutch
Roar Pro
You make one massive assumption? Paul Roos is on the market??? He has made no claims to even remotely wanting to coach again, unlike many other prominent coaches who have. I don't think Roos is in the market to coach again at this stage and if he was do you really think he would want to coach such a rabble?
Kris
Guest
"It is" (or "it's") *spelled* "centre". Aren't pedants annoying?
EricBloom
Roar Rookie
Paul Roos is overrated. He has no idea about anything that goes on outside of Sydney. When he commentates for Fox Sports, he only knows how to talk about what worked for him and he talks about how teams need to play more Sydney-type football. This is the guy who genuinely thinks Mike Pyke is a lock for the All Australian ruck position.
Avatar
Roar Guru
Paul Roos changed the way coaching works forever. He was the head coach when Sydney won the 2005 premiership, as you said in your article. Who were the assistant coaches at the time? Ross Lyon and John Longmire. Lyon was then appointed head coach of St Kilda and took the club to three Grand Finals, being unsuccessful in all three. He then left the Saints as their most successful coach of all-time and then took up the job at Fremantle. There, he's doing a brilliant job and now his Dockers are in contention, even with its two most important players (Pavlich and Sandilands) out due to injury. Longmire, meanwhile, continued the Swans' period of success and last year landed the club just its' second flag in under 80 years, and this year the Swans are continuing to be successful. I think Paul Roos will leave a legacy on the game when he retires from the AFL altogether. He is the main reason why clubs such as St Kilda and Fremantle have been successful in recent years, and so with Sydney.
Jermayn
Guest
"only four players are allowed inside the center (sic) square at bounces. The figure was unlimited prior but the change was made to avoid congestion around the center (sic) square." What???? Has this not been a rule for years? I remember playing junior football and this was the rule.
Matt F
Roar Guru
The game also changed a fair bit from 2003-2010. The fact that Roos continued to get good results, all despite coaching a team with less natural talent than many others, suggests he had no issue altering his game plan to suit the evolution of the game. Just because a style isn't pretty to watch, doesn't mean that it's bad or that it can't be altered to meet rule changes.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Stratton
Guest
"Three years on from when Roos left the game, only four players are allowed inside the center (sic) square at bounces. The figure was unlimited prior but the change was made to avoid congestion around the center (sic) square." Uh oh, you're in trouble with your readers right here. "During the three years that Roos has been out of the game, the AFL has made so many rule changes making the game unrecognisable amongst older generations." Yes, it looks like table tennis now to 50-70 year old bracket ;-) Sorry but this is a pretty poor article with no evidence whatsoever for some of the claims you are making. Poorly researched as well. And its spelt "centre".
Franko
Guest
"Just about every rule introduced is designed so that the Paul Roos style of football never comes back into the game." If he stays out a few more years maybe they will change again to suit.