‘Too quickly for me’: Bucks on Melbourne’s coach selection process as Steven King lands the role

Steven King’s outstanding presentation and “clarity” about how the Demons would play were key factors in his surprise choice as Melbourne’s new senior coach.

In confirming the choice of King, ahead of four other candidates including Collingwood great and grand final coach Nathan Buckley, Melbourne chief executive Paul Guerra said it had not been an easy decision, given there were “five quality candidates” for the job in the end.

According to a separate source with knowledge of the discussions, Buckley had informed the Demons that he would be meeting with Tasmania Devils chief executive Brendon Gale next week.

Buckley had been the perceived favourite for the Melbourne job, and is now a frontrunner to be inaugural coach of the Devils, who are slated to enter the competition in 2028.

On Friday night, Buckley confirmed his imminent meeting with Tasmania. The former Collingwood coach congratulated Melbourne on their decision, but said the process went “too quickly for me”.

“I said I needed until Wednesday morning,” Buckley said on Fox Footy.

“I’m meeting with Tassie on Tuesday, and I needed a little bit more of an insight into that process and their timeline before I was sort of able to make a final sort of call of whether I was willing to step into the Melbourne role.

“It was an honest process. It was a transparent process for my part, with Melbourne and I. At no stage were we unaware of the reality of the situation and I felt like it was respectful.”

Buckley said he was interviewed by Melbourne on Monday, and then again on Thursday.

“When you look at the process it’s happened really quickly from Monday morning,” he said.

“Too quickly for me, and that’s fine. Melbourne feel like they’ve got their man and that’s really all that matters for them.”

Guerra said King’s “presentation was a standout ... [he had] real clarity about how he wanted to play the game”.

Guerra told this masthead that King, a former Geelong captain and seasoned assistant coach with experience at the Cats (where he still works alongside Chris Scott), the Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast - would bring the Demons “a contemporary game plan from a successful program”.

Buckley, another Geelong assistant in James Kelly, Bulldogs assistant Brendon Lade and Essendon assistant Daniel Giansiracusa were interviewed this week by Melbourne’s coach search panel. Collingwood assistant Hayden Skipworth withdrew from the process before the last round of interviews.

Guerra said Buckley was “a quality person” and “a super coach”. “But we decided that Steven was the one.”

Two sources with knowledge of the appointment confirmed that King would be given a three-year contract.

Guerra said King had been part of successful programs at Geelong (as player and coach), at St Kilda (under Ross Lyon), and with the Western Bulldogs when they won the 2016 premiership.

Asked how King matched Melbourne’s needs as a football club, Guerra said: “How do we be competitive and stay competitive.”

The new Melbourne CEO described the Demons’s aspirations: “We want to get competitive really quickly and then hopefully contending (for the premiership) in the not too distant future.”

The panel that settled on King included current and future presidents Brad Green and Steven Smith, Guerra, football general manager Alan Richardson, ex-Essendon skipper Jobe Watson and Melbourne Storm executive Frank Ponissi.

Guerra cited Adelaide’s rise from 15th to minor premiers as an example of how teams could make rapid progress.

King had a taste of senior coaching, having coached Gold Coast Suns on an interim basis, for seven games, after Stuart Dew was axed in 2023.

He replaces 2021 premiership coach Simon Goodwin, who was sacked with a year remaining on his contract last month.

King intends to coach out the season with the Cats, who are through to next weekend’s preliminary finals.

In a statement, Melbourne highlighted King’s elite football intelligence and how he had emerged.

“Steven brings an abundance of experience from across the league, having held coaching positions at St Kilda, the Western Bulldogs, the Gold Coast Suns and Geelong. I think it’s safe to say he was pretty impressive on the field too,” said Demons president Brad Green.

“Steven has elite football IQ and a deep understanding of the game. He is highly competitive, places a strong focus on connection, and has a coaching philosophy we think our players will thrive under. During the appointment process, it became more and more clear that Steven was the ideal candidate for us.”

King played in Geelong’s drought-breaking 2007 flag before moving to St Kilda, where he played for three years including in the losing 2009 grand final.

He remained at Moorabbin as an assistant coach before continuing his apprenticeship at the Bulldogs, where he was part of the coaching panel that steered the Dogs to the extraordinary 2016 premiership.

He moved to the Suns in 2023.

“I began my AFL career in 1996 and have experienced it all across the past 30 years. I’m excited to bring my experience to the club and see what we can achieve, together, from next season and beyond,” King said in a statement.

“I can’t wait to meet the playing group, my fellow coaches, the staff, and the Demon faithful, and start building towards 2026.”

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