Some people have been suggesting Mick Malthouse is the greatest coach of all time, and if longevity is the measure you use to quantify greatness then they might have a point.
The current Carlton leader will break Collingwood legend Jock McHale’s long-standing coaching endurance record of 714 games in Round 5 of the coming season.
(There is some conjecture about the number of games McHale coached. He was ill the day the Magpies won their record fourth premiership in a row in 1930, but has recently been credited with the game. Most record books will show that he coached 713 games.)
But that record alone can’t make Malthouse the greatest. Surely more has to be taken into account than mere time spent in the game?
Premierships for instance. As a coach, Mick has three of them, but only one in the last 20 years. McHale, who had some brilliant players at his disposal, won seven, including a hat trick of victories in the late ’20s. McHale’s only rival in the premiership stakes is legendary Melbourne figure Norm Smith, who coached the Demons to six premierships, including a stunning run of five flags in six years towards the end of the 1950s.
While it might be said that McHale and Smith were lucky to be at their respective clubs throughout a truly golden era, we must not underestimate the influence they had on their players and the winning culture that they not only cultivated, but sustained across a long period of time.
The mists of time may be beginning to obscure the exploits of these fine leaders, but their records should speak for themselves.
The great coaches who come quickly to my mind though are the thinkers, those fantastic innovators who actually changed the way the game was played.
Men like John Kennedy Senior. If anyone built a club, it was him.
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Sean Q Lee - author and columnist 