DON Pyke will take on the Phil Walsh legacy as next Adelaide boss for a club desperate to address a concerning coach churn holding back the quest for a third AFL flag.

Adelaide’s five coach profile in six years - painfully and dramatically exacerbated by the Walsh tragedy – is viewed industry wide as the club’s Achilles heel. West Coast strategy master Pyke is a fix – delivering instant credibility and stability as Walsh did on appointment 12 months ago as Adelaide head coach.

Adelaide will unveil its 2016 coach next week having first sounded out Pyke after the emotional Phil Walsh tribute match defeat to the Eagles in Perth on July 11.

Pyke, 46, is coveted at West Lakes for offering a combination of Walsh’s game nous and dual premiership coach Malcolm Blight’s capacity to fashion players that take risks and prosper.

“There is a bit of a grey area in footy where you can take a licence. Pykey just wants blokes to back their instincts and has been very good for the midfield group and senior players,” West Coast skipper Shannon Hurn told The Advertiser.

Hurn says Pyke’s ready for a senior role while lauding the 1992 and 1994 premiership midfielder’s impact and unrivalled mix of life, business and football experience at West Coast.

“Don through his playing days and coaching has a very good understanding of balance around the game, gets on well with the players and sees the game pretty simply and clearly,” Hurn said of Pyke, a former Crows assistant coach, Eagles director and successful businessman.

“He would be a loss but the way our coaching and midfield group is, it’s also up to the players to cover it.”

The high profile exits of Kurt Tippett, Jack Gunston, Phil Davis and Patrick Dangerfield have caused deep consternation for Adelaide and frustration for fans whose hope for a third flag slips with each interstate departure. However a “high achiever” of Pyke’s ilk could reverse the trend.

Pyke is currently preparing for West Coast’s AFL grand final against Hawthorn on Saturday at the MCG.

Crows board member Mark Ricciuto says final interviews will soon conclude with Sydney’s Stuart Dew, John Blakey, Collingwood’s Scott Burns and Brendan McCartney also candidates on the market.

The Advertiser first linked Pyke with the Crows job on August 13. Interim coaching director John Worsfold had flagged both Pyke and Peter Sumich as candidates “worth talking to” if the Crows did not pursue his level 4 coaching protégé Dew.

A crowded roll call of five coaches in six years at Adelaide featuring Neil Craig, Mark Bickley, Brenton Sanderson, lost salvation Walsh and Scott Camporeale contrasts with the steady structure of successful rivals.

Hawthorn got it right with Alastair Clarkson, Geelong invested in Mark Thompson and Chris Scott while Sydney enjoyed a seamless transition between Paul Roos and John Longmire. Now Adam Simpson is creating a new empire with West Coast.