LAST week's appointment of Mark Williams as senior assistant to former mentor Kevin Sheedy at Greater Western Sydney put an end to four months of uncertainty for the long-serving Port Adelaide coach.

When Williams and his beloved Power parted ways in July it was expected he would walk into a senior coaching role at another AFL club.

The last couple of seasons at Alberton had been tough for Williams both on and off the field, but his coaching record over the 13-year journey couldn't be denied.

He took Port Adelaide to five consecutive finals series between 2001 and 2005, claiming the premiership in 2004 and becoming the first man to coach his team to 16 or more home and away wins across four straight seasons.

He guided the Power back to the game's biggest stage in 2007 and although it was a grand final day to forget, getting there was a feat in itself for the rebuilding list.

With the exception of three-time premiership coach Mick Malthouse, Williams' record stacks up against that of any current coach in the competition.

So why did it take a new franchise and an old friend to help find him another home?

Unfortunately, for the man affectionately known as 'Choco', he's in the top end of another bracket in the AFL coaching ranks - age.

It seems ironic that in a time when clubs are embracing mature-age players, they are shunning the game's more experienced coaches and 52-year-old Williams isn't the only victim of this increasing trend.

His assistant this year, Dean Laidley, was courted by numerous clubs across the country before agreeing to join Port Adelaide, but when the 43-year-old sought a return to Melbourne for family reasons in October he too was on the outer.

Williams also dreamed of a move to Melbourne, where he captained Collingwood in his playing heyday and where his wife and eldest son were born.

He sold his Glenelg family home with the intention of working in the Melbourne media until he found another gig in footy, but the job prospects in Victoria thinned when Essendon replaced sacked coach Matthew Knights with prodigal son James Hird.

The Bombers had encouraged both Williams and Laidley to interview for the supposedly 'vacant' senior coaching position just days and hours before the club officially announced the untried Hird as Knights' successor.

Geelong also chose a fresh-faced coach in Chris Scott to replace Mark Thompson and the latter's subsequent defection to the Bombers snuffed out any lingering hope Williams had of returning to Windy Hill, where he'd been offered the main job just three years earlier.

The sequence of events resulted in Laidley staying with the Power on a four-day-a-week basis and Williams uprooting his family for the second time in as many months.

Although these options were neither man's preferred, they could prove to be massive coups for the two clubs willing to look past the wrinkles and the odd stress-induced grey hair.

Williams and Laidley might not have the shiny new marketing appeal of James Hird or Michael Voss, but they have plenty left to offer the game.

And let's not forget the coach left holding the premiership cup this year was also the oldest.

It's just a waste that he too will be replaced by a younger model at the end of 2011.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.