Crows set their sights on next AFL coach

Adelaide aren’t fazed by Scott Camporeale deciding he doesn’t want the head coaching role at the AFL club, Crows chief executive Andrew Fagan says.

Camporeale, who took over the job after incumbent Phil Walsh was allegedly murdered by his son on July 3, will return to a senior assistant coaching role on a fresh two-year deal at the Crows.

His decision not to pitch for the top position leaves West Coast assistant Don Pyke as the frontrunner in a field of candidates also believed to include Scott Burns, John Blakey and Leigh Tudor – all assistant coaches at other clubs.

Fagan said the Crows were on track to announce their next coach in early October.

“We are in quite a unique position – we went through this process 12 months ago and we have got a good football program,” Fagan told reporters on Thursday.

“That also helps us to identify what coaches might work best here.

“And it’s just trying to ensure we get the right fit for both our football club now and into the future.

“We have got a shortlist.”

Camporeale told the Crows he wasn’t willing to bid for the head coaching position due to the all-consuming nature of the job.

“He didn’t wish to put his hand up to be considered for the role for family reasons, for personal reasons,” Fagan said.

“Timing is critically important in these decisions. It’s more of a lifestyle than a job.

“It’s all-consuming and his belief was he wanted, at the moment, to go back into the midfield role as a senior assistant.

“He will go back as a better coach. Now he has got experience in the main chair, I think it has given him an even greater lens for the game.”

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