Devonport's revolving coaching door continues as Coghlan departs soon

Devonport City coach Rick Coghlan is relinquishing the position after Devonport’s NPL game against Maitland on 21 September.

Coghlan coached Devonport to the NPL Tasmania title in his first and only season in charge this year.

He is reportedly returning to Queensland for personal reasons.

Will this pave the way for the return of last year’s title-winning coach Chris Gallo?

Gallo had two seasons at Devonport, finishing third in 2017 and winning the 2018 NPL title with the club before moving to Queensland to coach.

He resigned as coach of Magpies and Whitsundays Crusaders FC after only a few months in the role.

He returned to Tasmania midway through this year and took up the full-time position of Football Tasmania’s North-West Coast regional development officer.

With Coghlan’s imminent departure, the way is now open for him to reapply for the Devonport coaching position.

If he does, the club would almost certainly appoint him, given his success when last in that job.

Devonport have had huge success over the past four seasons despite the musical chairs in the coaching position.

They have had had three different coaches in that time:  Peter Savill (league and cup double), Chris Gallo (league and cup double) and Rick Coghlan (one league title).

Meanwhile. Olympia Warriors, who finished second in the NPL Tasmania competition this season, have reappointed Rob Clarke for the 2020 season.

The decision was announced to the players in the dressing room at their game against Launceston City at Warrior Park last weekend.

Olympia won that game 5-2.

Speculation has also been building that Hobart Zebras coach David Smith will be returning to a lucrative coaching position in Victoria after just one season back in Tasmania.

I rang Smith and he said there had been a few nibbles but that he was staying in Tasmania.

Zebras and Clarence United are proposing to merge before next season, but that will depend on a vote of members of both clubs to be held next week.

I don’t know who will actually vote on the issue as I don’t know how ‘members’ is defined.

Will it be registered players, committee members, life members, financial members or supporters?

We’ll have to wait and see.

I believe that some kind of voting will be held on the same evening that the findings of Football Tasmania’s competition review will be disclosed at a meeting of club presidents.