Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has accidentally revealed the existence of a secret group chat between all AFL coaches during a live moment on Channel 7.
Mitchell made the revelation while discussing the controversial sacking, by North Melbourne, of his former coach Alastair Clarkson last week.
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When asked about whether there was a brotherhood among coaches, Mitchell let slip details about their private communications.
“We have like a group text or a group chat, and it’s pretty quiet,” Mitchell revealed on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters.
St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt was immediately stunned: “There’s an AFL coaches’ group chat?”
While gun 7NEWS sports reporter Tom Morris asked: “18 of you?”
“Yes, yep,” Mitchell confirmed, while quickly realising he had let the cat of the bag.
“I didn’t realise that was a secret. Apologies, it’s live, so I can’t cut that out. Sorry, coaches,” he said.
Morris pressed further: “Which coach is the admin?” with Mitchell saying the chat is run by the AFL Coaches Association, rather than an individual.
Mitchell described the group as relatively quiet, with coaches occasionally responding with a thumbs up, but “not a lot of banter”.
He refused to reveal which coach was the most active in the chat, saying “I wouldn’t be saying that. I’ve already given away far too much.”
On the Clarkson sacking, Mitchell said he agreed with Geelong coach Chris Scott’s assessment and felt uncomfortable watching the press conference.
“I was squirming in my chair, just saying, I don’t know, I don’t really like how this is being played out,” Mitchell said.
He added that as a coach, he felt uncomfortable with how the situation was handled, noting there was a support network among coaches “because you’re in a unique situation.
“There’s not too many of us,” Mitchell said.
