Former North Melbourne coach Brad Scott “holds the key” in Carlton’s search for its next senior coach, according to The Age’s AFL columnist Caroline Wilson.
Scott, who coached the Kangaroos to two preliminary finals in his decade-long tenure at the helm, ended his tenure at the club midway through the 2019 season.
After Carlton was rejected by both Alastair Clarkson and Ross Lyon in recent weeks, Scott fits the bill for what club president Luke Sayers has said on the record about the type of figure he is after as the next coach.
According to Wilson, Scott is weighing up whether to throw himself into the Blues’ process or to take up a role as the AFL’s Football Operations boss, replacing the outgoing Steve Hocking.
“What is clear now is that Brad Scott holds the key to the Carlton coaching position, in my view,” she told Nine’s Footy Classified.
“Brad Scott has not been interviewed formally, but I understand [he] is strongly considering throwing his hat into the ring.
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“As we sit here tonight, my belief is that Brad Scott is weighing up whether to hold on and throw his hat completely into the AFL ring for the football operations job to replace Steve Hocking.
“I don’t think [the AFL] has encouraged Brad to go for the Carlton job, not by any means, because they’re interested in Brad Scott, but I don’t think Gillon McLachlan would be not understanding if Brad were to do that.”
Footy Classified host Eddie McGuire confirmed that if Scott does not throw his hat into the coaching ring again, that the Football Operations role at the AFL would be his.
Scott’s link to the vacant Carlton job comes as Wilson also unearthed what she called a “bizarre twist” in the club’s highly-publicised search for its next coach.
“We’re told that there have been people at Carlton who have approached people at Collingwood about their coaching process, which we were quite complimentary of,” she said.
“It actually was a process, a lot of candidates were interviewed and I’m told that Paul Licuria, the football boss, might’ve even put it to Graham Wright that some of the IP might be shared with Carlton.”