The writing appears to be on the wall for West Coast coach Adam Simpson.
Following another disappointing loss to Melbourne, which makes it 53 losses from their past 61 games, reports have indicated that both the Eagles and some players want a fresh voice.
Unrest has filtered through the West Coast camp, whilst some players have spoken about needing a change after Simpson has been at the helm since the beginning of 2014.
As is the case of not if but when the 2018 premiership coach gets the tap on the shoulder, Footy Classified's Caroline Wilson believes there's already a trifecta of candidates being looked at as the next head coach.
Three former Eagles players in the form of Dean Cox (Sydney assistant coach), Ashley Hansen (Carlton assistant) and Jaymie Graham (Fremantle assistant) have all been flagged.
"There's three who are all being looked at now by West Coast"
Caroline Wilson names three former Eagles who are being eyed off as potential Adam Simpson replacements. #9FootyClassified | Live on 9Now 🖥️ pic.twitter.com/2Cg0JABLqj
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) July 8, 2024
"Three former West Coast players, all doing well as assistant coaches," Wilson said.
"Everyone talks about Dean Cox but there's three straight off the top who are being looked at now by West Coast."
Simpson has come gone on record saying he is up for the job and committed to the rebuild, but is aware of his football mortality.
Speaking to 7 News on Monday, the premiership coach said he's focused on steering his side back onto the winner's list.
"I haven't really thought about [seeking clarity on my future], I'm just trying to do my job as best I can," he said.
"I'm trying to explain what we're trying to do and what we're trying to get better at. There'll be some weeks where we're poor and some weeks where we achieve our goals.
"There's been some performances in the last month that have been pretty disappointing, so I can understand the rhetoric but it doesn't change my vision or goal.
"We sort of went through this last year, didn't we? We'll work through it, we'll keep conversations pretty open and keep moving forward."
On Tuesday the Eagles decided to cancel a planned press conference featuring midfielder Tim Kelly due to the "current circumstances surrounding the club", raising further suspicion around the club's workings.
West Coast have just cancelled a scheduled Tim Kelly press conference, one minute after it was due to start, in light of the current circumstances surrounding the club. Makes it a bigger story than it should be.
— Eliza Reilly (@ByElizaReilly) July 9, 2024
A report from Tim Gossage on SEN revealed that the Eagles scheduled a board meeting today (Tuesday) which will determine the future of Simpson.
“It is my understanding that the West Coast Eagles' board meeting is today,” Gossage told SEN WA Breakfast.
“This is a planned meeting – not an extraordinary board meeting – and it'll come as no surprise that Adam Simpson's coaching future will be the number one item on today's agenda.
“My information is the board could decide as early as today and announce today that Adam Simpson's time as coach is up effective immediately."
The Eagles will host Brisbane at Optus Stadium to complete Round 18.
