NEW senior assistant and future Melbourne senior coach Simon Goodwin says “of course” it crossed his mind for a moment that the now vacant Adelaide coaching position could have potentially been his for the taking.

Although Goodwin said he wasn’t officially offered the Adelaide gig – after former coach Brenton Sanderson was sensationally sacked on Wednesday – he confirmed former teammate and another Adelaide greatr Mark Ricciuto did “suss” him out.

But Goodwin said the Adelaide coaching position was never on his radar and he said Ricciuto, now a Crows board member, was very respectful of his decision

“No, it wasn’t. I got a call from ‘Roo’ (Ricciuto) late last night to see where my thinking was at. He’s a great mate,” he said.

“I’m passionate about coaching and coaching is what I want to do and I see this [Melbourne role] is the best fit for me.

“He certainly didn’t talk about me being the next coach at all. He expressed the fact about just sussing me out to see where I was with Melbourne and I told him I was a long way down the path and ready to commit.

“He was very respectful of that.”

Although Goodwin said Adelaide had been a massive part of his life, he was determined to make his mark at Melbourne.

“The Adelaide footy club was a big part [of my life] for 14 years, but coaching is a completely different caper and I’m really settled in Melbourne and I really want to be part of the Melbourne footy club,” he said.

Goodwin said he was rapt to have two seasons under Paul Roos before taking over in 2017. And he was adamant success was built though culture.

“Paul’s had a lot of experience with that and that’s something that was something that really appealed to me about the Melbourne footy club,” he said.