Essendon's Brad Scott has issued a dire warning about the future of AFL coaching ranks, insisting current players don't see it as a viable career.
In a passionate plea, Scott urged the AFL to listen to the coaches rather than treat their issues as "nonsense".
Scott, who formerly worked as the AFL football boss, claims he has never seen the coaching fraternity so "disenfranchised".
After retiring from playing in 2006, Scott immediately found work as an assistant coach at Collingwood, before spending a decade in the top job at North Melbourne from 2010.
The dual Brisbane Lions premiership player feels Essendon are listened to by the AFL, but believes that is not a common experience.
"In my time in footy, I've never seen a coaching group more frustrated with a whole range of things," Scott said on Wednesday.
"That's not to do with umpiring, it's not to do with even relationships with the AFL.
"It's more the way coaches are regarded within the AFL.
"I've never seen a coaching group more disenfranchised with the way they're treated as a whole."
The AFL slashed the soft cap for football staff at the start of the COVID-19 lockdowns that forced the 2020 season to be suspended, and eventually reduced.
But nearly four years on from the last of the pandemic lockdowns, the soft cap is still nowhere near pre-COVID levels.
For 2025-27, the AFL increased the soft-cap limit from $7.275 million to $7.675 million.
"While the game is blossoming and the game is in great shape, the AFL have clearly said what their priorities are - and coaching and football departments are low on that priority list," Scott said.
He is certain the AFL won't be able to keep or attract new coaches, if it is not urgently addressed.
"We won't only lose them, we just won't gain them," Scott said.
"Talk to the (AFL) Players' Association about pathways for players into coaching, and their feedback is solid - players don't want to do it.
"They see what the coaches are doing and they don't want to do that.
"They see the benefits in terms of the career in coaching versus the challenges it throws up, and they're voting with their feet and choosing not to pursue it.
"For the first time I remember ever in footy, that's happening, and that's been talked about and just disregarded as just a nonsense by the AFL.
"Well, it's happening. It's going to continue to happen."
Collingwood premiership coach Craig McRae agreed with Scott.
"The soft cap, it's reached its boiling point in terms of our staff," McRae said on Wednesday.
"And it's not just coaches, it's our staff.
"And right now, there's a lot of loud voices. There's a lot of yelling, going 'what's going on?'
" ... there's a lot of staff that are working long hours, and they want to be rewarded for that."
AFL boss Andrew Dillon defended the league's approach.
"There have been substantial increases to the soft cap over the last couple of years, post-COVID, getting back to the 2019 levels," Dillon said in Adelaide on Wednesday.
"Then ultimately it's a call for the clubs about how they divide up the soft cap amongst senior coach, assistant coaches, high performance, list managers and operations.
Scott's plea follows his twin brother, Geelong coach Chris, on Tuesday criticising the AFL for "cherry-picking" when they clarify umpiring decisions.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge recently teed off at the AFL for confusion around tackling.
