News Rob Kerr takes up new role at Essendon

[Billy Puller]

Don't laugh but the people I know around Albury have nothing but praise for Aker's coaching and mentoring abilities. I accept that Leigh would be the major stumbling block there though.

I reckon Acker would be a good fit, his no bullshit speaks his mind approach would be refreshing for interviews at least.

 

[Ironmonger]

I assume our new senior assistant coach will be one of these guys:

http://www.greaterspringfield.com.au/management-team.php

 

[jackess]

Don't laugh but the people I know around Albury have nothing but praise for Aker's coaching and mentoring abilities. I accept that Leigh would be the major stumbling block there though.

Major would be an understatement you'd think. Who knows maybe Aker has grown up but I can't see it happening.

 

[Ironmonger]

So Schwab's getting Kerr's job and we need a new senior assistant?

http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl...rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Incidentally, like every Andrew Hamilton article, it is frustrating to read through that and try to pick the strands of fact from all of the opinion and assumption.

 

[Skoob]

I assume our new senior assistant coach will be one of these guys:

http://www.greaterspringfield.com.au/management-team.php

Sensible that Dr. Phil is in charge of Education & Health, but what's with the pseudonym 'Terry Kearney'? Must be for tax reasons.

 

[dlanod]

Don't laugh but the people I know around Albury have nothing but praise for Aker's coaching and mentoring abilities. I accept that Leigh would be the major stumbling block there though.

Doesn't really have the experience for a senior assistant role.

 

[Panthera]

Incidentally, like every Andrew Hamilton article, it is frustrating to read through that and try to pick the strands of fact from all of the opinion and assumption.

Has Schwab had any real experience recruiting?

Kinda important considering he's apparently been appointed Head of Recruiting

Another cost cutting exercise by the Lions board?

 

[dlanod]

Has Schwab had any real experience recruiting?

Kinda important considering he's apparently been appointed Head of Recruiting

Another cost cutting exercise by the Lions board?

Somewhat concerned about that myself, but it's possible we're going to rely more on Conole and bring in someone new for direct list management. I don't think he's "Head of Recruiting" as such, rather he's taking some of Dean Warren's responsibilities. The position as described in the article - a new senior position overseeing the Lions’ recruitment, retention and welfare - doesn't sound like a direct replacement for Kerr, as he didn't have any welfare responsibilities, nor retention beyond contracting. It sounds like we'll take a more holistic approach, which could be an advantage.

 

[Quigley]

He has no specific recruitment experience but he has an experienced team in place below him to deal with a lot of things especially in the draft area. On contract negotiation I think he has been in enough senior roles to carry it off pretty well. Very well regarded in the industry which gives him a position of strength from which to start. I don't mind the appointment.

 

[Panthera]

Somewhat concerned about that myself, but it's possible we're going to rely more on Conole and bring in someone new for direct list management. I don't think he's "Head of Recruiting" as such, rather he's taking some of Dean Warren's responsibilities. The position as described in the article - a new senior position overseeing the Lions’ recruitment, retention and welfare - doesn't sound like a direct replacement for Kerr, as he didn't have any welfare responsibilities, nor retention beyond contracting. It sounds like we'll take a more holistic approach, which could be an advantage.

Sounds like the usual Lions' spin to me; first major appointment since the upheaval and we're doing a sideways move

 

[dlanod]

Sounds like the usual Lions' spin to me; first major appointment since the upheaval and we're doing a sideways move

It depends what comes out in the wash but having a single person dedicated to overseeing player recruitment and retention is an advantage, as long as we have competent people working below him on individual responsibilities.

 

[Quigley]

Would one factor in the job redescription be that he is based in Qld. More focus on having a senior staffer who is responsible for looking after the players.

 

[Happy_Neale]

So who negotiates our contracts in the meantime?

 

[Quigley]

The Head of Football Operations I would expect.

 

[Ironmonger]

Warning: negative speculation to follow.

So there are broadly two ways to view this move for Schwab, in my opinion.

Either Schwab hasn't really worked out as Head of Coaching and Development, or at the very least that the new structure we'd set up isn't functioning as we'd like. At this stage of the season, having a senior assistant or a head of coaching and development seems like a pretty criticial role to leave unfilled, and I doubt you'd even think about moving the incumbent out of that job if you're happy with how he was going.

Or we've decided at this stage of the season that recruitment, retention and welfare is so important right now that we absolutely must have someone like Schwab on it, even if that means taking him away from a very important position. Which makes me wonder how retention and welfare could be possibly be a more significant priority now, six rounds into the season, than it was when we first established this staff structure in the wake of the go-home five. Are we hitting more roadblocks in re-signing young players? Did we need to make some big gesture to convince certain people that we were serious about fixing that aspect of the club?

Either way I'd suggest that the first few weeks of the season have exposed some pretty serious problems.
The quotes by Schwab seem to back up that second interpretation, but then no one is going to say that we're making this change because the guy we appointed just wasn't up to it.

The good news is that at least we're moving pro-actively to address these problems, whatever they are, rather than letting the season drag on and hoping for the best.

It strikes me that these changes were leaked to the media on the day of a Carlton-Collingwood game. I'd imagine we'd be keen to limit the chance for the mainstream footy media to speculate on what this might mean.

 

[notting18]

Or we've decided at this stage of the season that recruitment, retention and welfare is so important right now that we absolutely must have someone like Schwab on it, even if that means taking him away from a very important position.

Couldn't the impetus for the change you are looking to identify be the fact Kerr left? It is the Occam's Razor approach to the situation. More so than Schwab not working out in his existing role or something else happening in recruitment, retention and welfare (particularly as there has been a steady flow of re-signings)

 

[Ironmonger]

Couldn't the impetus for the change you are looking to identify be the fact Kerr left? It is the Occam's Razor approach to the situation. More so than Schwab not working out in his existing role or something else happening in recruitment, retention and welfare (particularly as there has been a steady flow of re-signings)

Then why not just appoint someone for that specific job?

Schwab's new role sounds quite a bit different to Kerr's old role.
I suppose it's possible the different title is just window dressing, but that still leaves us with the question of why they would shift him out of his head of coaching position if everything was going swimmingly.

 

[Quigley]

It could be that the club couldn't really find a good list manager, has a really good assistant lined up and thinks Schwab would do a good job in the list manager role.

 

[Ironmonger]

It could be that the club couldn't really find a good list manager, has a really good assistant lined up and thinks Schwab would do a good job in the list manager role.

I hope so.

But the season is well and truly on. Surely any really good assistant is committed somewhere else right now.

 

[Kevvo]

It strikes me that these changes were leaked to the media on the day of a Carlton-Collingwood game. I'd imagine we'd be keen to limit the chance for the mainstream footy media to speculate on what this might mean.

If Bob Sharpless's recent press work is anything to go by, I think this may assume too much of our media competency.

I agree it seems like an odd move at this stage in the season, but I'm inclined to agree with this view:

It could be that the club couldn't really find a good list manager, has a really good assistant lined up and thinks Schwab would do a good job in the list manager role.

 

[notting18]

Then why not just appoint someone for that specific job?

Schwab's new role sounds quite a bit different to Kerr's old role.
I suppose it's possible the different title is just window dressing, but that still leaves us with the question of why they would shift him out of his head of coaching position if everything was going swimmingly.

When dealing with management positions I think the position description is drafted to fit the best qualified individual more so than trying in vain to find a person to fit a specific position description. Schwab has a different skill set to Kerr and is importantly Brisbane based so the different role makes sense to me.

 

[POBT]

If Lethal is reportedly taking a more hands on role with the footy dept, it may be that he's effectively doing a lot of what a "Head of Coaching" might do. That being the case, they maybe don't need an "administrator" as much as they need a hands on coach. And I don't think Schwab would be the right choice for a hands on type role.

I agree with a few above - I think Kerr's departure has mostly created an opportunity to enhance the existing mix of expertise, rather than a knock on him or the structure.

 

[chopperduck]

It could be that Leppa is doing well, the coaching staff are functioning good and Lethal might be doing a good job supporting as well. We NEED to have someone in charge of our list management, and Schwab has a heap of experience in the industry. We have the majority of our actual scouts and recruiters still in place. It is probably simply a better use of Schwab at the club, and we might back ourselves to find a better quality senior experienced coach, rather than a better list manager.

 

[Panthera]

Warning: negative speculation to follow.

So there are broadly two ways to view this move for Schwab, in my opinion.

Either Schwab hasn't really worked out as Head of Coaching and Development, or at the very least that the new structure we'd set up isn't functioning as we'd like. At this stage of the season, having a senior assistant or a head of coaching and development seems like a pretty criticial role to leave unfilled, and I doubt you'd even think about moving the incumbent out of that job if you're happy with how he was going.

Or we've decided at this stage of the season that recruitment, retention and welfare is so important right now that we absolutely must have someone like Schwab on it, even if that means taking him away from a very important position. Which makes me wonder how retention and welfare could be possibly be a more significant priority now, six rounds into the season, than it was when we first established this staff structure in the wake of the go-home five. Are we hitting more roadblocks in re-signing young players? Did we need to make some big gesture to convince certain people that we were serious about fixing that aspect of the club?

Either way I'd suggest that the first few weeks of the season have exposed some pretty serious problems.
The quotes by Schwab seem to back up that second interpretation, but then no one is going to say that we're making this change because the guy we appointed just wasn't up to it.

The good news is that at least we're moving pro-actively to address these problems, whatever they are, rather than letting the season drag on and hoping for the best.

It strikes me that these changes were leaked to the media on the day of a Carlton-Collingwood game. I'd imagine we'd be keen to limit the chance for the mainstream footy media to speculate on what this might mean.

This is 100% true; whether it's why we've made the change; doubtful

 

[Panthera]

It could be that the club couldn't really find a good list manager, has a really good assistant lined up and thinks Schwab would do a good job in the list manager role.

You're funny Quigley

More likely we'll finish top 4 this year