Under-fire West Coast Eagles senior coach Adam Simpson has received public backing to remain in his position from a pair of former powerbrokers.
Simpson, for close to the full duration of this season, has found himself the subject of significant scrutiny as a result of West Coast's horrid three-win 2023 campaign.
Despite being contracted for a further two seasons and having conducted an Eagles premiership triumph in 2018, Simpson appears in grave danger of dismissal at season's end.
However, former Eagles chairman Murray McHenry and club benefactor Nigel Satterley have publically backed Simpson to stay as coach, according to The Age's Jake Niall on Thursday.
McHenry had been in football administration for more than 20 years, serving as the chair of the Western Australia Football Commission in addition to his duties at West Coast. McHenry played an instrumental role in helping the Eagles secure their maiden premiership in 1992.
The long-serving administrator stated he'd been "a strong Adam Simpson person to be [the Eagles'] coach" previously.
"I have no reason to change that judgment," he toldย The Age.
McHenry proffered the idea that injuries are mostly to blame for West Coast's dramatic tumble.
"It's not one to two players out, it's five to six and that's what causes the heavy losses," he added.
In addition to his injury-centric justification for retaining Simpson, McHenry isn't a fan of coughing up a large expense to pay out the remainder of Simpson's current contract if the club dismisses him this year.
"That's a huge expense for us and are we going to do better than Adam Simpson?" McHenry pondered.
Meantime, Satterley, a renowned Perth property mogul and West Coast investor, echoed McHenry's sentiments.
"I'm in Adam's camp to stay," said Satterley to The Age.ย "I rate Adam as a person and family man and he's been great for our football club."
While a definitive decision hasn't yet been made, it was recently reported several assistant-coaching switches have been confirmed ahead of the cessation of the season.
Simpson's Eagles have succumbed to five 100-point losses this season and are now positioned second-last on the ladder after last weekend's results.
Slated to pick second overall at November's National Draft, West Coast's list committee is in a prime position to either select and develop a high-end prospect, or trade down this year's order and gain additional capital.
West Coast's final home-and-away fixture of the season comes at home against the Adelaide Crows this Saturday night.
