Collingwood are on the hunt for two new coaches after another member of Craig McRae’s wider staff left the club this week. The Magpies announced on Saturday that development and senior VFL coach Andy Otten won’t be back in 2026 after three years at the AFL club.
Otten had served as a development coach at Collingwood since the end of 2022, and was the club’s VFL coach in 2025. He led the Pies to an 11-7 record in the VFL this year, finishing seventh in the regular season before they were eliminated in the first week of the finals.
Andy Otten (R) is leaving Collingwood after three years on Craig McRae’s (L) wider coaching staff. Image: AAP/Kurtis Sofo Photography
Otten played 109 games for the Adelaide Crows between 2008 and 2019, before moving into coaching and working with Hawthorn’s VFL team. Collingwood said on Saturday that 36-year-old Otten is moving on to explore new opportunities.
“Thank you and good luck for the future, Andy,” the club wrote. “After three years at the club as a development coach and this season as VFL senior coach, Andy has decided to step away from his role to explore other opportunities.”
Andy Otten played 109 games for Adelaide (L) and spent three years as a coach at Collingwood (R). Image: Getty
Andy Otten joins Scott Selwood in departing Collingwood
Otten is the second coach to depart Collingwood in a matter of weeks. Last month the club announced that assistant coach Scott Selwood is taking a break in 2026 after a difficult year.
The former West Coast and Geelong player has been working at Collingwood under Craig McRae for the last six seasons, but won’t continue in the role in 2026. It’s been an awful year for the Selwood family with Scott’s twin brothers Adam and Troy dying within three months of each other. Adam and Troy were both former AFL players, while the youngest brother Joel is a four-time Geelong premiership winner.
Scott Selwood (second from left) was part of the Collingwood coaching team that won the AFL premiership in 2023. Image: Scott Selwood/Getty
Selwood started at Collingwood as a development coach in 2019, before being elevated to an assistant under McRae in 2021. He played an integral role in helping the Pies win the flag in 2023.
“Twelve years in the system as a player and six as a coach has been some of the best years of my life”,” Scott Selwood said. “It has been a personally challenging year for me so the timing feels right to take some time for myself away from football.
“I want to thank Collingwood for allowing me to coach the game I love. To experience premiership success (in 2023) with the people who have become second family to me will always be a special memory.
“There is so much to love about this club but I know what I’ll miss most is the people I’ve been fortunate to work with across the journey and the feeling I got walking across the MCG and hearing the chant of the great Magpie Army.”
Scott Selwood speaks to Nick Daicos at a Collingwood training session. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
Scott Selwood grateful for time at Collingwood
Collingwood said Selwood will spend next year travelling overseas and exploring other opportunities. “A special mention to ‘Fly’ (McRae) for giving me an opportunity as an assistant coach,” he added. “You have a great care for your people and I thank you for your support, kindness and friendship.”
Collingwood’s EGM of Football Charlie Gardiner said: “Anyone that has been lucky enough to work with ‘Scoot’ knows he is an outstanding person and a very talented coach. He has been a much-loved and respected friend and colleague to everyone at Collingwood and a very popular coach and mentor to our players.
“We thank Scoot for his enormous contribution to our football club – he has played an integral role in the success of our program over the past six years, and our club is all the better for having Scoot a part of it. Scoot’s energy, charisma and wit will be missed within our four walls, but we wish him all the best for the future and his next chapter.”
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The Pies were eyeing Daniel Giansiracusa to fill Selwood’s vacant role, but he’s heading to Hawthorn as their new head of development instead. Collingwood have also parted ways with players Brodie Mihocek, Oleg Markov, Charlie Dean, Ash Johnson and Fin Macrae, while Mason Cox’s future is under a cloud as well. They recently re-signed Jamie Elliott and have been linked to Kangaroos captain Jy Simpkin and Swans player James Rowbottom in the trade period.