Simon Goodwin has been sacked as head coach of the Melbourne Demons, ending his nine-season tenure despite leading the club to a drought-breaking premiership in 2021. The decision, described as one of the most ruthless in recent AFL history, comes as the Demons face declining performance and a trajectory heading in the wrong direction.
Goodwin, 48, will forever be remembered as the coach who broke Melbourne's 57-year premiership drought, joining club legend Norm Smith as one of only four coaches to lead the Demons to a VFL/AFL flag. However, the club has chosen to look forward rather than backward, seeking a new coach to restore the team to contention.
The 2021 premiership was built on a dominant midfield led by captain Max Gawn, but the team has since failed to win another finals match. Consecutive straight-sets exits in the finals were followed by a dramatic drop to 14th place last year, amid off-field issues involving star midfielders Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver, and the premature retirement of Angus Brayshaw.
This season, the Demons started with five consecutive defeats, and despite a mid-season revival, they fell out of finals contention. A humiliating final-term capitulation against St Kilda, where even one of the club's greatest players lost his composure, was followed by a win over bottom-placed West Coast, but it was not enough to save Goodwin's job.
Goodwin declined the offer to coach out the remaining three rounds of the season, forgoing a farewell tour that would have included a match against the 2021 grand final opponents, the Western Bulldogs. The club will now begin the search for a successor with a clean slate.
Goodwin spent 11 years at the Demons, including nine as head coach, having taken over from Paul Roos in 2017. He leaves with a year remaining on his contract, having been unable to replicate the success of the 2021 flag.
