Ken Hinkley may never be in this position again after closing out his 13-year diplomacy coach period at Port Adelaide. Following his final match, a victory over Gold Coast, Hinkley has received an “extraordinary” offer from Hawthorn, a fierce rival in the Australian Football League (AFL). Now, for all his accomplishments, he’s undergoing a fierce debate about his future. In many ways, he’s charting a course into life beyond coaching for the first time after three decades.
Hinkley famously challenged Hawthorn players in the hallway after the 2024 semi-final. Perhaps this high-profile sparring match opened the door to the club’s recent peace offerings. Mitchell, Hawthorn’s new head coach, has reached out to Hinkley directly about a possible spot on the staff.
For Hinkley, this moment represents a big change. “I have had a coaching job every minute of my life for the last 30 years,” he stated, emphasizing the challenges of stepping away from a career that has defined him for so long. For the first time since he’s broken into coaching, though, he’s looking at life after playing.
As he thinks through his next moves, Hinkley has signaled that he requires time to deliberate. “I need a bit of time to let the dust settle and find out whether I’ve still got the competitive edge to want to compete,” he remarked. During this reflective phase, he plans to sit down with his wife, Donna, to discuss personal matters that have been sidelined during his coaching career.
“I’ll sit down with Donna … and we’ll plan a holiday.” – Ken Hinkley
In addition to Hawthorn’s interest, Essendon has reached out to Hinkley regarding a position within Brad Scott’s coaching setup. According to these reports, the position at Hawthorn would be tailored to Hinkley’s liking. This setup would allow him to be based in Adelaide or to even relocate to Melbourne.
Caroline Wilson reported on 7NEWS Melbourne that both Hawthorn and Essendon are interested in pinching Hinkley. This new development makes his deliberation period all the more interesting and complicated.
“My understanding is Ken Hinkley is part of their plans if he was interested and they’ve spoken to him about a three to four-day role, commuting from Adelaide if he wanted, but also (potentially) living in Melbourne,” – Caroline Wilson
Though these were plentiful opportunities, Hinkley is still supposed emotionally connected to Port Adelaide. He expressed his feelings candidly: “I’m in love with the Port Adelaide footy club … that’s not easy to walk away from.” His close connection to the team leaves him little room to consider potential new roles. That is certainly the case when you factor in a club he never, ever dreamed of joining.
Kane Cornes expressed surprise at Hawthorn’s approach, stating, “This would be the last club that I thought would offer him a job.” This feeling is very much the mood of the nation among analysts when it comes to Hinkley’s future in coaching.
As he goes through this metamorphic period, Hinkley is very aware of the fact that family comes first. He stated, “We’ll think about grandchildren, children – all the things that get taken away from you a fair bit when you do footy.”
