The race is on to find Melbourne’s new head coach, with the field reportedly down to six and an end date in sight.

According to afl.com.au’s Cal Twomey the likes of veterans Ken Hinkley and Danny Daly are now out of the running.

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Hinkley is yet to announce where his future lies after coaching his final game for Port Adelaide as part of the Power’s succession plan to hand Josh Carr the reins for 2026 and beyond.

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Daly, the Lions footy boss, has meantime told 7NEWS “it’s not the right time” for him to pursue a head coaching role.

“Brisbane premiership football boss Danny Daly has declined Melbourne’s offer to be part of the process to find Simon Goodwin’s successor,” 7NEWS’ Mitch Cleary said.

“The Demons reached out in recent days but Daly told them it’s not the right time for him to pursue it.”

Brisbane footy boss Danny Daly is out of the running.Source: News Corp Australia

St Kilda assistant Corey Enright is reportedly not in the hunt; same goes for Lions assistant and former Dee Cameron Bruce.

Fox Footy’s Nathan Buckley is widely tipped to be the front runner in the race to replace Simon Goodwin, who was sacked with just three games to play in 2025.

Melbourne club president Paul Guerra has revealed the Demons will be making a call sooner rather than later.

“We won’t be making any decisions around the list or having conversations around the list until our senior coach is in place,” he revealed.

“We know where we need to be as a football club … We want to be back in a position where we’re contending. We want to be a club that is respected across the whole of the competition and we’re going to build back towards that.”

It’s believed a host of current assistants including Western Bulldogs’ Brendon Lade, Geelong’s Steven King and James Kelly, and Collingwood’s Hayden Skipworth are also in the running alongside Buckley.

Nathan Buckley reportedly remains the frontrunner in the search to replace Simon Goodwin.Source: News Corp Australia

But the likes of experienced premiership coaches John Longmire and Adam Simpson are not part of the search to be headed up by a seven-person panel – including Guerra, club president Brad Green, director Steve Smith, ex-Bomber Jobe Watson and Melbourne Storm GM Frank Ponissi.

It was reported the Dees had spoken to “as many as 15 coaches” on an informal level before the final field was narrowed to six.

Already, the Demons have farewelled Mark Williams as the club’s head of development and midfield assistant Sam Radford who has returned to Perth and joined West Coast.