THE AFL Coaches Association is not concerned by decisions from Fremantle and the Western Bulldogs to send departing assistant coaches on gardening leave before the end of the season.  

Dockers assistant Peter Sumich was last week stood down with four matches to play after notifying the club he would be exploring other opportunities.

On Wednesday the Western Bulldogs followed suit, releasing senior assistant Brett Montgomery from his contract to allow him "more time to start planning for the next phase of his career".

It is understood it was the choice of both clubs – rather than the respective assistants – for them to finish early instead of seeing out the season, and in the Bulldogs' case a finals campaign.

Both coaches were initially offered the opportunity to stay, but the two clubs then changed their minds.

Last season 25 assistant coaches left their clubs, with 18 moving to a new AFL home. Seven did not find new clubs.

All were aware by July or August that they would be finishing at the end of the season but stayed on until the end of the season.

The AFLCA expects another 20 assistant coaches to move clubs this year.

CEO Mark Brayshaw said Sumich and Montgomery were "outliers" and their clubs' decision to stand them down was not a reason for concern for the rest of the industry.

"Both are Level Four coaches and the market for their services is hot at the moment, so their clubs decided to send them on gardening leave," Brayshaw told AFL.com.au.

"The Coaches Association’s advice to every coach who gets bad news in the lead-up to August 1 is simple – work as hard and professionally as you can until your clubs’ season ends, so that your reputation is not tarnished." 

All assistant coaches who are coming out of contract are told of their contract status for the following year by August 1.

According to one senior coach, it is a date that sees a bomb go off in the industry, sparking a flurry of interviews in the final month of the season.

There are concerns in the coaching industry that the decisions by Fremantle and the Bulldogs could see more clubs walking their departing coaches out after the August 1 deadline.

Brayshaw said the reason for the early deadline was the timing of the AFL's financial year, which ends on October 31.

"If a coach’s contract is not extended, come the 1st August the clock is ticking and he or she has three months to find another job to pay the bills," Brayshaw said.

"To hold off notifying a coach until, say, late September, risks putting the coach and his family in harm’s way, without enough time to find a new job.

"This is especially challenging for coaches outside Melbourne due to the scarcity of AFL Employers."