Adam Simpson's brutal response to North Melbourne coaching gig
With the Kangaroos in disarray after parting ways with head coach David Noble this week, premiership player Adam Simpson has twisted the knife on his former club.
North Melbourne's seasons long rebuild has arguably reached a nadir with the team losing their last 14 matches in a row, prompting Noble's exit and a search for a new coach to begin.
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While another former Kangaroo in Leigh Adams is taking the reigns in the interim, the club is looking to recruit a long-term mentor who can oversee a turnaround in the club's fortunes.
The club can already cross Simpson's name off that list, with the West Coast Eagles coach making it abundantly clear he has no interest in a return to Arden Street.
Though Simpson conceded he felt for his his former club, he said he had no intentions of leaving the Eagles - saying there was 'no need' for his former club to open up any discussions.
"I've been here for nine years and I'm as invested as I've ever been," said Simpson, who is contracted to West Coast until the end of 2024.
"I just haven't entertained the thought (of going to North).
"They're obviously going through some issues at the moment and it's been there for a couple of years,
"You've got history at the club, there's definitely parts of you that are drawn to what they're going through.
"I've got my eye on some mates who are over there but outside of that, I'm working through here."
Simpson said he believed he'd already moved to shut down any talk of him returning to Melbourne.
Adam Simpson rules out return to North Melbourne as coach
Nevertheless, when pressed he reiterated that North Melbourne's struggles hadn't changed his mind on where he wanted to coach for the foreseeable future.
"Just because there's a change in the narrative at North, it doesn't change mine," he said.
"I'm fully invested in what we are doing. I haven't spoken to North at all in a long time.
"There's no need (for them to call me).
"There will come a time when I get tapped on the shoulder (by West Coast) but at the moment I am contracted and I'm up for the fight.
"It's going to be a long road for us and it would be silly to look sideways at the moment."
Ross Lyon, Adam Yze, Don Pyke, Robert Harvey, Scott Burns, James Hird, Mark McVeigh, Nathan Buckley, Justin Leppitsch and Jaymie Graham are among the many other names who have been thrown into the mix.
Graham, who is currently an assistant at Fremantle, worked under Simpson at West Coast and is highly rated.
"I thought he was ready last year," Simpson said of Graham's readiness for a top job.
"I think there's enough evidence to suggest that he's capable of taking on a role."
With AAP
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