Why being an interim coach is fun for a while, and then reality bites

May 28, 2026 — 11:30am

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It was a Saturday morning after the round 11 Friday night game of 2009 in which my Tigers, where I was an assistant coach, had been soundly beaten by the Western Bulldogs. It was coach Terry Wallace’s last game as coach of Richmond.

I walked toward the boardroom at Punt Road for a meeting where I was hoping (expecting …) to be named the interim coach for the remainder of the 2009 season. The Herald Sun had an article saying I would get the job and the night before, Terry had kindly passed the coach’s phone to me for the last 15 minutes of the game to talk to players and make some moves. It was a lovely gesture.

I departed the meeting 10 minutes later, still an assistant coach. It was explained that I’d only been an assistant coach for two years and that I hadn’t coached my own team. Jade Rawlings, our VFL coach, had that experience, and so he would be the caretaker.

It made sense and while disappointed, I agreed with the decision. I found out the real reason in a chance encounter about 10 years later. I’ll get to that.

The world of sacking the coach into the choice of interim coach is a fascinating media cycle – the incessant craving for a decision from the club, but when it finally comes, sometimes it feels like an anti climax. But once the head is on the plate, the tone shifts to unabashed optimism........

© Brisbane Times