How 'gutless' West Coast wasted everyone's time

OPINION

West Coast wasted everyone's time waiting to sack Adam Simpson, including Simpson himself.

A full-scale rebuild with a new coach, list boss and CEO should have begun at the end of 2023, not now.

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Loyalty is admirable, but in this instance it was blind. It was a failure of governance to kick the can down the road, rather than address it last September.

Across 2022 and 2023, the Eagles won five of a possible 39 games. No coach should survive that, not even a premiership coach.

There were excuses and reasons, of course – injuries being the primary one – but it was as clear then as it is now that Simpson's time had come to an end.

Even CEO Trevor Nisbett was ready to pull the trigger last year and believed he had the backing to do so.

But the board, much to the surprise of Nisbett, had other ideas. Justin Langer was incredibly persuasive behind the scenes, convincing fellow directors Simpson was a good man who warranted another year.

The first point is true. Simpson is a good man. But no 'good bloke' factor is enough to mitigate seven 100+ point defeats across two seasons.

So the board delayed the inevitable under the guise of loyalty and respect. If they really believed Simpson was the man to oversee another tilt at a flag, they should have extended his contract beyond 2025 there and then.

Instead, they sat halfway: Too gutless to sack him but too gun shy to fully endorse his methods for the next era of success.

In remaining stubborn, they didn't allow enough wriggle room for defeats that come with a rebuild. How many rebuild coaches sign two-year deals? That was effectively Simpson ahead of 2024.

Remaining loyal was also risky from a list management perspective. It's understood multiple key players would have explored a trade had Simpson continued into 2025.

While young players felt disconnected, established veterans had grown weary of the same voice.

After the club's Round 16's loss to Hawthorn, Pyke approached Nisbett to ask him his thoughts. Nisbett's view hadn't changed in 12 months: Simpson had done an excellent job, but a change was overdue.

The text message scandal of last week elevated tensions internally.

Simpson brushed it off publicly, but he wouldn't be human if it didn't wound him deep down. He even joked last Friday that he knew it was his last media conference, which is why his son came with him.

Twice he baited the Eagles to sack him. Once late last week, then again post-game on Sunday.

"Whoever coaches in the future" were words chosen deliberately, on separate occasions two days apart. The axe was hovering and everyone knew it.

At around the same time, he told colleagues he may be just one bad performance away from losing his job.

Whether he read the tea leaves or knew it implicitly, it was clear he was conditioning those around him for the inevitable.

It should never have come to this. Simpson should have been celebrated and sent on his way 12 months ago, safe in the knowledge that he had climbed the mountain and achieved all that he could at the club. Left free to pursue opportunities elsewhere.

Instead, a stubborn board stuck by him right when they needed to make a call for the betterment of the club.

It cost the Eagles 12 valuable months. You could even mount an argument now the rebuild hasn't even begun.

Aside from Harley Reid, who are the club's best young players? On Sunday the Eagles were older than Melbourne.

North Melbourne's best kids are obvious, as are Hawthorn's. West Coast? Not so much.

His exit following an at times awkward media conference on Tuesday gives West Coast fresh air and a clean slate.

All of this should have been neatly avoided. It's a fine balance, but blind loyalty is head-in-the-sand behaviour. It shirks responsibility. And it's what West Coast displayed by keeping Simpson for as long as it did.

Refreshed and reinvigorated, he may well coach again. And he deserves to. Premiership coaches are just that for good reason.

But the past 18 months should act as a cautionary tale for other clubs. GWS' break-up with Leon Cameron and Collingwood's sacking of Nathan Buckley both prove even good things can reach an abrupt end and work out for everyone involved.

The key is being brave enough to do it when the moment arrives.