FORMER Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade says coaches shouldn't have to walk through the crowd to get onto the playing field.

His comments come in the wake of Richmond coach Damien Hardwick's run-in with an Adelaide supporter following his side's 36-point loss to the Crows on Friday night.

As he walked down an aisle through the crowd, Hardwick responded angrily to a remark from the fan, pointing at him, having words and alerting a security guard who was escorting him to the incident.

Eade told RSN Radio on Tuesday morning coaches shouldn't be put in potentially precarious positions.

"I don't think the coaches should be able to (walk) through the crowd because at one stage in the future something is going to happen," he said.

"Someone is going to be too drunk or say something abusive, so I think it's best to avoid that before it does."

AFL chief Gillon McLachlan told 3AW on Sunday the report from ground security indicated the comments from the fan weren't overly offensive.

"It's not ideal, clearly, but there's nothing too dramatic in it from what I've seen," he said.

"A coach walking through the middle of the crowd is challenging.

"The initial report of what was said was reasonably mild but it's a tense situation and we will follow it up."

If Hardwick ever finds himself in that position again, Eade's advice to him is simple.

"I don't think what the guy said was too bad, if it was reported correctly," Eade said. 

"It's a bit of banter, you just have to ignore that and move on."