With Hinkley taking up the vacant Port Adelaide position, and midfield coach Shane O'Bree heading back to Melbourne for family reasons, the Suns' stocks appeared to take a hit.
But with the addition of former Power mentor Matthew Primus, former Carlton assistant Mark Riley and Sydney Swans premiership player Ben Mathews, they have more than filled the void according to McKenna.
All three were on show for the first time on Monday morning as the Suns commenced pre-season training at Carrara.
McKenna said the numbers stacked up favourably for the Suns.
"Mark Riley from Carlton, 18 years assistant, replaces Ken Hinkley, 15 years assistant coach, so we think we've moved forward there," McKenna said.
"Shane O'Bree, two years assistant coach as a midfielder, and you replace him with Matty Primus, who has been a senior coach and an assistant for five years. Certainly the coaching ranks have been improved."
Mathews will take up a development coaching role.
Along with the three additions, director of coaching Malcolm Blight will have more of a bird's eye view of things after moving from his home in North Queensland's Palm Cove, to the Gold Coast.
McKenna said aside from different philosophies and different voices, the new faces bought tangible change, particularly Primus.
"With the size of him, of course, we've got an abundance of rucks, he can help with those blokes, he can help with Sam Day, [and] the tall defenders like Rory Thompson," McKenna said.
"His skill set is vast. He has the midfield role but his one-on-one ability when he played was profound and I'm sure he'll bring that to the table coaching these young fellas."
McKenna said he wished Hinkley the very best in his new role.
Michael Whiting covers Gold Coast news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL
