Carlton coach David Teague admits coaches in the AFL industry who've been stood down at their respective clubs due to the devastating financial toll of the coronavirus outbreak face severe career uncertainty given the nature of the job.
It comes as it's been predicted as much as 70 per cent of the industry - from football to administration departments - have faced the axe, with most clubs operating with skeleton staff amid the season's indefinite postponement.
Whilst the competitions' return date is still being heavily speculated, the financial hangover from the current crisis will force clubs to run far smaller coaching setups once it re-commences.
Teague conceded that unlike more common industries, coaches in the AFL who have been stood down will face unprecedented challenges to find a job again.
MORE: Cornes reignites feud with 'mentally fragile' Tex Walker
“It’s going to be a challenge from what we’re hearing, and again there’s a lot of speculation. They’re talking about soft cap cuts,” the rookie Blues coach said on Tuesday.
“The biggest challenge that I’m facing is that there are going to be some really good people that aren’t going to have a job, and leaving one AFL club, it’s going to be really hard to go to another AFL club which is in the same position.
“If you work in other fields, you can go to other companies, but right now in football, the whole industry is going through it. If you worked in accounting, you could go to another accounting firm.
“Where in football, as coaches, there’s probably not many opportunities, so I’m going to be really sad for the coaches that miss out, and even the football staff in general from a high performance and medical point of view that miss out just because of the nature of where the game is at at the moment.”
The coronavirus suspension continues to wreak havoc on the entire league, with the survival of most clubs not guaranteed.
The AFL has announced it had secured a line of credit in the vicinity of $600 million to address the financial downfalls all 18 clubs are due to face as a result of the season's suspension.
However, in the meantime, CEO Gillion McLachlan and his executive team remain determined to kickstart the 2020 premiership, and among a number of different options are seriously exploring relocating players in different hubs to enable games to be played in isolation.
While key AFL figureheads such as Patrick Dangerfield have voiced their doubts over the hub concept, Teague said players and coaches needed to be "open to everything".
"The game is facing a lot of challenges, as is the world, so if we can provide some people at home some entertainment [I agree with it], as long as we can do it in a safe environment, and also provide the game an opportunity to continue to build and grow," he said.
"I think right now there's a lot of speculation and a lot of great ideas. I love the innovation, I love the thoughts and as a club you're trying to prepare for as much as possible but with so much speculation you can't spend too much time on each proposition.
"But if it gets the game up and going, I'm all for it."
