A four-hour meeting with Don Pyke in Brisbane on Wednesday night sealed the choice for Adelaide.
Pyke, who last Saturday worked alongside West Coast coach Adam Simpson at the AFL grand final, flew from Perth to Brisbane on Wednesday to meet Adelaide’s coach selection panel for the first time.
Crows CEO Andrew Fagan revealed the formal interview finished near 11.30pm and it was only then that the panel finished its report and sent its recommendation to the Adelaide Football Club Board, in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Once the Board ratified the decision, an offer was made to Pyke before he flew back to Perth.
Pyke, 46, then called Fagan at a work function on Thursday to accept the senior coach role, nine years after he left the Crows where he had been an assistant coach under Neil Craig in 2005-06.
“The speculation that we had already made a decision weeks ago was off the mark,” Fagan said.
“Our selection process was very thorough and exhaustive, we spoke to a large number of potential coaches and then met several more formally, once their commitments were finished.
“Don had an informal chat with a couple of panel members back in August but we agreed not to meet until West Coast’s season was over - and Wednesday night in Brisbane was our first chance to do that.
“He was the standout candidate, he had a unique set of skills, qualities and experiences that he has amassed over nearly three decades of football.
“We found his presentation and those qualities and experiences, compelling.”
Pyke made a quick trip to Adelaide for the announcement and then was set to return to Perth for the Eagles’ best-and-fairest event on Friday night.
“I was very grateful for the respect Adelaide showed of my time to be able to stay completely focused on my role at West Coast,” he said.
“I’ve got some history here, I know some of the people here, a quality organisation in how it’s run - it made a lot of sense. It was easy to put my hand up and put my hat in the ring for this one.”
Pyke will be the tenth person to coach the Adelaide Football Club (including interim coaches Mark Bickley and Scott Camporeale) and the fifth since he was an assistant coach under Craig.
