Dean Cox could backflip on West Coast Eagles coaching job after revelation about family

Swans assistant coach Dean Cox ruled himself out of the race for the West Coast Eagles job last month revealing his wife and kids are too settled in Sydney to uproot their lives. At the time, the West Coast champion was thought to be the front-runner to become the new head coach of the Eagles but he declared his loyalty to the Sydney Swans, where he has been an assistant since 2017 under John Longmire.

"I am extremely happy in Sydney, and I believe this is the best place for me and my family at the moment," Cox said in a statement in July. "My two girls are 8 and 11 and have made solid friendships at school, and my wife is running a new business which she is passionate about, so we feel staying in Sydney is the best option for us right now."

However, despite publicly stating he won't up and move his family to WA, the Eagles continue to hold out hope that come season's end he may have a change of heart. According to Nine's Damian Barrett, West Coast are set to have one last crack at luring him back to Perth before turning their attention to other options for the full-time coaching role.

"It's not a definitive 'no' in their eyes," Barrett told Nine's Footy Classified on Wednesday night. "The fact (is) that the Eagles know that there's going to be another question to be asked of Dean Cox once the completion of the Sydney Swans' season is in play." The Eagles believe after the dust settles from the Swans' finals campaign, Cox could be open to the move.

"The distractions attached to a senior assistant coach in the finals mix is something they (Eagles) didn't want to get involved with. Dean Cox and the Swans didn't want to be at play either," Barrett said. "The question, I know for a fact, will be asked again, the moment the Sydney Swans season is over."

Adam Simpson and the Eagles parted ways with just six games left in West Coast's 2024 campaign, with the club publicly declaring their search for a new coach would begin immediately. Almost straight away Cox was identified as a top candidate as he is someone who is highly regarded as a coach and is also a legend at West Coast, having played 290 games for the club from 2001 to 2014 - including the 2006 premiership triumph.

RELATED:

• Garry Lyon's warning for Adelaide as Josh Rachele axed after taunt

• Matthew Nicks responds after comment towards Ken Hinkley revealed

Don Pyke plotting another move for Dean Cox

Once the Swans' season is finished, it is understood that West Coast CEO Don Pyke will ask Cox one more time if he would be open to taking the head coaching job at the club. Pyke knows Cox well as they shared assistant coaching responsibilities under Longmire at the Swans in 2022, the season where they suffered a heavy grand final defeat to Geelong.

Pyke therefore knows when finals are around the corner, football departments are fully focused on the job at hand and this has led him to believe there is a chance that once the dust settles he may take up the chance to join West Coast. Around this time last year, both Pyke and Cox were jointly approached by Eagles powerbrokers about a potential co-coaching arrangement due to the trust and understanding the two have with each other.

At that time Pyke was the one who rejected the coaching proposal, instead accepting the major off-field role, while Cox continued at the Swans. It is understood with Pyke as CEO, Cox is viewed as the ideal coaching replacement for the West Coast job but the club in the meantime are also looking into other options such as Brett Montgomery (GWS) and interim coach Jarrad Schofield.

The likes of Nathan Buckley, Ashley Hansen (an assistant at Carlton), Josh Carr (Port Adelaide), Jaymie Graham (Fremantle) and Daniel Giansiracusa (Essendon) were all floated as potential options but all have withdrawn from the coaching race.