Port Adelaide are set to appoint Ken Hinkley as their senior coach on Monday, ending a tortuous two-month process for the AFL club.
The Power will formally confirm the Gold Coast assistant on Monday.
Also on Friday, losing grand finalists Hawthorn appointed sacked Carlton coach Brett Ratten as an assistant.
Ratten replaces Leon Cameron, who has gone to Greater Western Sydney on a four-year deal where he will take over from Kevin Sheedy as their senior coach from 2014.
Ratten and Cameron were candidates for the Port job, as was former Sydney and Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade.
But all three withdrew their interest, forcing Power chief executive Keith Thomas to defend the appointment process on the club website and say it had been “far from … farcical”.
On the same day Port sacked Primus, president Brett Duncanson tearfully announced he would also leave his post.
Earlier this week, the Power announced Sydney-based television personality David Koch would be their new president.
Last month, the club also had to deal with the tragic death of player John McCarthy on a players’ trip to Las Vegas.
This week, they lost players Danyle Pearce (to Fremantle) and Troy Chaplin (Richmond) under the new free-agency system.
While the circumstances have not been ideal, Hinkley will go to Alberton with strong credentials.
He was an assistant at Geelong before going to the Suns and his former colleague, Adelaide senior coach Brenton Sanderson, are among those who say he will make a massive difference to the Power.
Hinkley, who turned 46 earlier this week, played 132 AFL games for Fitzroy and Geelong from 1987-95 and was also an assistant coach at St Kilda.
Port have not made the top eight since their record 2007 grand final loss to the Cats and are struggling financially.
Meanwhile, Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has joined president Eddie McGuire in warning West Coast that the Magpies want a decent deal for Sharrod Wellingham.
They are sympathetic to the midfielder, who wants to return to his home state after 92 AFL matches with the Magpies, but it will take a trade deal.
“Sharrod is pretty keen to get home,” Buckley told Channel Nine.
“You dance around it a bit now and make sure that the club doesn’t lose out of that.
“If we can get him back to Perth, we’ll take that, but clearly there needs to be something coming back the other way.”
Chris Dawes also appears ready to leave the Magpies after they recruited fellow key forward Quinten Lynch from West Coast through free agency.
“There are obviously a lot of questions around that, there are still another couple of weeks to go in trade period and a few boys are assessing their options,” Buckley said.
“The club has to look at its best interests – it’s an unsavoury part of the year.”