AFL coaches under pressure: why are so many burning out and exiting the system? | Jonathan Horn

Resources, workload and the media can make it a stressful job and the wolves will always circle if the results dry up

Pressure, the fighter pilot and champion cricketer Keith Miller once said, was a Messerschmitt up your arse. It’s a quote often wheeled out by Mark Latham types bemoaning a world gone soft. It bobbed up a few times last week in regards to AFL coaches, who are apparently stressed, under-resourced and burnt out. Two of the most successful coaches of their generation stepped away from the game in recent weeks. “Coaches feel like the scum of the industry,” Caroline Wilson said. Even Craig McRae spoke of the enormous toll it takes on his wellbeing and his family life.

Not everyone is convinced. “Let’s stop pretending that earning between $600,000 and a million dollars a season to coach one of 18 AFL teams is the worst job in the world,” Kane Cornes said. “It’s arguably the best. Being a doctor and making sure a diagnosis brings pressure – a surgeon, a nurse, a real estate agent taking phone calls from buyers at all hours seven days a week and trying to sell someone’s most significant asset for the best possible price would have its moments. If they don’t list and sell homes, they don’t eat.”