Tasmania Devils chief executive Brendon Gale says the club will name its inaugural coach by the end of the AFL season.
But he has refused to confirm whether frontrunners Nathan Buckley, Ken Hinkley and John Longmire are the only names in the mix.
Gale fronted the media at Penguin on the north-west coast on Friday and confirmed the coaching search had moved beyond early talks.
“Things are advancing and these are internal discussions, they’re really important,” Gale said.
“There’s some sensitivity attached as well, so it’s probably inappropriate to be commenting further at this stage.”
He would not be drawn on the reported three-way race.
“I won’t confirm or deny,” Gale said when asked directly about Buckley, Hinkley and Longmire.
“We’ll do whatever we have to do as a football club to make a really, really strong decision for our club.”
Gale said the decision belonged to the club board, not to him alone.
“This is probably one of the most consequential decisions a footy club would make,” he said.
“It’s not a decision that I make. It’s a decision a club makes, a club board.”
He said the Devils had deliberately taken their time and would not rush the call.
“We’ve had time on our side and so we’ve taken the time and the opportunity to what I think will result in a really strong decision,” Gale said.
“We’re not there yet, but I wouldn’t have thought we’re too far away.”
“Our commitment is that we’ll have this resolved by the end of the season.”
Gale said an appointment was unlikely to be kept secret once confirmed internally.
“Once you land these decisions, they don’t tend to stay tight for too long,” he said.
“I would’ve thought once we arrive at that point, where we confirm a coach internally, you’ll be hearing about it pretty soon.”
The Tasmania Devils will enter the AFL in 2028.
