Another big name has dropped out of the race for the Demons' vacant head coaching position, with Adam Simpson declaring it "doesn't feel like the right time" to take over another AFL team.
Following Simon Goodwin's sacking after his nine years and a premiership with Melbourne, the rumour mill has been in overdrive about who could take over a list in a state of transition.
Swans flag winner John Longmire was the first of the recognised coaches to withdraw from any contention for the Dees and now Simpson, who regularly appears alongside 'Horse' on AFL 360, has made the same move.
The 49-year-old Simpson, who led West Coast to the 2018 premiership before standing down after round 17 last year, has opted to make his feelings public prior to any potential phone call from the Demons' hierarchy.
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"I don't want to coach next year," Simpson declared on SEN radio. I think I'll give it a spell.
"I was thinking through it over the weekend and I know 'Horse' (Longmire) has done the same thing and it just doesn’t feel like it's the right time to be available.
"They haven't called me. And sometimes you wait for these things because you might think 'I'm not interested', but then you get the phone call and you go 'oh hang on, I'm wanted' and then you sort of pivot in a different way.
“I’ve had a good think about it and I’m just not in the right headspace with it. I’m enjoying all this (media work).
“It’s the same things that 'Horse' (said) really. He’s a bit different, it’s only been eight months for him, it’s been a bit longer for me.
“The passion to go through all the process, because once you get approached it’s turbo and you need to really be prepared. I’m not really prepared and not in the right headspace.
“I’ll continue to do this if this is part of my brief next year. I feel like that’s the path I’m taking at the moment.”
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The decisions from Longmire and now Simpson appear to leave Nathan Buckley as the frontrunner for the Melbourne gig.
Buckley, 53, the losing Collingwood coach opposed to Simpson in that 2018 grand final, has been out of a coaching role since leaving the Pies in 2021.
The Brownlow medallist appears the most ready to return to the coaching caper, regularly linked with the upcoming Tasmania job.
Yet even he said just last week he remains "on the fence" about the idea.
"I've been out of coaching for a little bit longer, so I know exactly where they're at," Buckley told SEN.
"And I'm still working out whether I'm there or whether I'm in. So I'm well and truly on the fence."
Outside of the established trio, Magpies assistant Hayden Skipworth and Lions football boss Danny Daly have also been mentioned if the Demons opt to go with an untried senior coach for 2026 and beyond.