"The big thing I've got out of this is that Alastair Clarkson is the only coach since 2009 who is still coaching his own team," Frawley said. "To me, you have to ask a question of the industry, are we doing the right thing by our coaches? More importantly, are we putting the right people in place?" he asked. "At times, we look at premiership clubs and say 'let's get an assistant from there, he's really good'. "But seriously, does he have the skill set to be able to manage 30 full-time staff and 42 players? "You've got to manage [underneath you], you've got to manage the media. The AFL, the Coaches Association and those at clubland need to take a deep breath and work out the pressure these guys are under.

"The footy operations manager and CEOs' roles have to be greater because gone are the days where an ex-player can just come in and hope that their playing ability is going to get them where they want to go. "I think we need, as an industry, to sit back and take a big deep breath and work out where we want our coaching to go in the next 10 to 15 years." Frawley said Port Adelaide had set the right example for the Saints and other clubs in their appointment of Ken Hinkley, who completed a hugely-impressive debut year as senior coach in 2013, taking the Power from basket case in 2012 to the second week of the finals the following year, after waiting nearly 10 seasons as an assistant coach at numerous clubs. I asked him, what surprised you, Ken, about senior coaching? And he said 'nothing'. That's the first time I had heard a first-year coach say that, and it's no coincidence that Port are on the way back. Frawley said the Saints had, for the last 10 years, failed to implement the four "key pillars" strong clubs such as Geelong, Hawthorn and Sydney had been able to maintain - a stable president, chief executive, football manager and senior coach working in harmony - and therefore it was crucial the club select a coach who will survive long term.

"A lot of people say he is doing a good job in his first year, but Ken Hinkley has been coaching for 18 years," Frawley said on SEN. "I asked him, what surprised you, Ken, about senior coaching? And he said 'nothing'. That's the first time I had heard a first-year coach say that, and it's no coincidence that Port are on the way back. "I've got no doubt he's going to be there for the long-term and I think that's what the clubs have got to look at, the boards and the CEO's." It's understood the Saints have drafted a shortlist of potential candidates to take over as coach, ranging from a former premiership coach in Mark Williams, now at Richmond, a highly-regarded experienced assistant (similar to Hinkley) in Alan Richardson, an internal candidate in Saints assistant Adam Kingsley and a former club great in Robert Harvey, who has worked as an assistant at Carlton and is now the senior assistant at Collingwood. The decision is expected to be made within weeks, probably ahead of the national draft.

Frawley, himself a former senior coach at Richmond, had even been floated as a potential option to take over at his old club, but the former Saints skipper emphatically ruled himself out on Monday. "I've never been one of those guys who have harboured great goals to be a senior coach, but down the track I'll go back to club land at some stage. But the timing is not right," he said. Frawley stopped short of criticising St Kilda's handling of the sacking. However he admitted the timing – two months after the Saints finished their season – could make it hard for Watters to find another job for the 2014 season, with many clubs having finalised their coaching teams. "At the end of the day, clubs really need to make the decision in the best interests of the football club," Frawley said. "At least the St Kilda Football Club is going to honour his contract and that is probably the most important thing for [Watters] and his family going forward."