Former Hawks premiership player and coach Peter Schwab has joined the Lions. Source: Adam Armstrong / News Limited
Peter Schwab will assume all those roles in his bid to help make Justin Leppitsch a successful senior coach.
During the hunt for a new coach, Lions general manager of football Dean Warren and newly-elected board member Leigh Matthews became convinced that a senior director of coaching and development would be an equally critical appointment.
Schwab, who had been invited by Warren to join the selection panel that chose Leppitsch, was right under their noses.
When Warren suggested the three-time Hawthorn premiership player and former coach, Matthews was instantly convinced.
"He is totally ideal, he was just a fantastic appointment,'' Matthews said of his 1983 premiership winning teammate.
Matthews is neither old school nor new age. He is simply ultra-practical. According to the four-time premiership coach, if you hire a coach you back them to do the job.
He did not believe Leppitsch needed an experienced former head coach as a senior assistant to help him formulate his game plan or the values he wants to the Lions to live by.
Leppitsch needed Schwab to shield him from all unnecessary distractions, mentor him when required and to make sure Leppitsch's vision was implemented across all levels of the footy club.
"As a coach in modern footy, the main role is to coach your coaches to coach your players in the manner you want them to be coached,'' Matthews said.
"That is a gigantic job in itself.
"There is a lot that goes on around a footy club and any coach, let alone a first-time coach, needs someone senior to manage that for them.''
Schwab's is the position Michael Voss so desperately needed. The wheels started to fall off for Voss when footy manager Graeme Allan and senior assistant coach Wayne Brittain left at the end of 2009.
Factions developed within the club that ultimately claimed his scalp. No one at the Lions wanted another favourite son to founder because he had no one with experience to either prop them up when they were struggling or pull them up when they steered off course.
Schwab has never left Victoria and admits only a firm belief that Leppitsch had the attributes to make a quality senior coach convinced him to pack up and move north.
"The ultimate aim for me is to make sure Justin is a long term coach,'' Schwab said..
"I think he can be a great success and I want to make it as easy as possible by covering things for him that allows him to focus where he really needs to.''
Schwab agrees with Matthews that a senior coach's fortunes can rest on the performance of their assistants.
"It's Justin's game plan, but he hasn't put it into action yet,'' he said. "He has what I think is a great way of going about things but he will obviously rely heavily on the players.
"The ones who will educate the players are the coaches.
"I guess I'm the observer and the person that is there to drive the group behind Justin.''
Schwab's matchday duties will centre around ensuring Leppitsch's vision is being implemented by line coaches Simon Black (forwards), Shane Woewodin (midfield) and Murray Davis (defence).
Leppitsch, who arrived at the club during a period of board unrest, a mass player walk-out and a turnover of new staff, says he has quickly found there is always something within a club that can drag a coach away from his main duties.
"I am aware of the dangers in trying to be involved in every level and Schwabbie will be invaluable in making sure all the departments are cohesive,'' Leppitsch said.
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