An article a few days ago in the Geelong Advertiser stated that the Cats had begun negotiations to sign up head coach Chris Scott to a new contract ‘sooner rather than later’.
CEO Brian Cook went on to say he struggled to understand doubters of Chris Scott with plans to try and keep Scott as coach until the end of 2019.
This news sent Cats fans into a bit of a frenzy with most supporters being on the fence on whether they’d like to keep him as head coach or move him on.
Should Geelong keep Chris Scott for another contract?
What is the pass mark of Geelong this year? Obviously, they will say along with every single club the cliché answer of a premiership or nothing. For Chris Scott however, if the Cats don’t win the premiership this season, has he really done enough to stick around and earn another contract?
On bare numbers alone, it seems ludicrous to even have this discussion. Since being appointed in 2011, Scott has won 102 games as head coach, giving him a winning percentage of just under 72 per cent. He’s finished in the top eight for five of his six seasons with an average of 16 wins a season.
It’s the record in those finals games where it starts to get interesting. In the five years he’s coached Geelong in the finals, he has a record of 5-6. In 2011, he led a remarkable team to the flag in his first year as coach.
Since then, it’s been 2-6 in finals. Those losses include a a straight-sets exit in 2014, an elimination final defeat to Fremantle at Simmonds Stadium in 2013 and last year’s embarrassing preliminary performance against Sydney where it was over at quarter time.
In 2016, the games they did lose were unlikely results as well. They failed in back to back games against Carlton and Collingwood, had to pull a miraculous 35-point comeback at three quarter time against Richmond and couldn’t get over the line against St Kilda. It’s the small game mentality that has hurt Geelong for a few years now and one Scott can’t seem to get rid of.
You aren’t going to win every game you play but when you beat the Dogs, the eventual premiers twice in one season convincingly but lose to Carlton, it raises some alarm bells. You can find some similar performances in every year after they won the flag.
Over the course of his tenure, Geelong have undergone a major list overhaul. They’ve said goodbye to a dozen All Australian players, including losing a prime Gary Ablett to the Suns.
Famous names like Ling, Chapman, Milburn, Scarlett, Kelly and Stevie J have all left or retired. Add that on to the fact that Scott’s ability to rejuvenate the list has been hampered with so few top draft picks coming into Geelong and you’d say he’s done well to keep them relevant. Recruits like Patrick Dangerfield and Lachie Henderson do help however.
With so many questions on Geelong’s depth going into this season, it’s crucial Scott gets it tactically right this year. They were clearly too reliant on Dangerfield and Joel Selwood in 2016 but with the loss of Corey Enright, Jimmy Bartel and Josh Caddy with the only replacement coming in being Zach Touhy, they are now putting a lot of faith in some players that haven’t shown game winning ability.
Names like Darcy Lang, Nakia Cockatoo, Cam Guthrie and even Steven Motlop to an extent are all under pressure to perform. If they don’t, Scott will be in the firing line.
Chris Scott’s job is to make sure Geelong are playing their best football and since 2012, they’ve underachieved. His last five years of finals coaching performances have been poor and with the arguably the two best midfielders in the competition playing for him, this season is do or die for Scott.
If they get to a grand final and win it or fall short, I’d give him another year. If they don’t make the grand final without any major injuries, I’d be moving him on.
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