STRONG candidates for the Brisbane Lions coaching position are starting to drop out, as the push to replace Justin Leppitsch becomes a two-horse race.
Assistant coaches with senior ambitions are increasingly taking the line that they are happy with their clubs and will not be pursuing the only senior vacancy this season.
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Some aspirants have held recent discussions with the club and walked away with the belief that the Lions have already decided on their man.
There is a strong sense among the League's top assistants that Hawthorn football manager Chris Fagan is in pole position to win the role with only one main challenger.
That challenger is Carlton assistant John Barker, whose experience as a stand-in coach for 14 games last year and a 10-year apprenticeship have made him the standout in the Level Four accreditation course.
Assistant coach Brett Montgomery had also been keen to apply for the position but is now understood to be considering a push for a senior assistant position, either at the Lions or elsewhere.
The former Western Bulldogs assistant has met with Richmond.
There is a sense in the industry that Fagan, who last coached as an assistant in 2004, would require a senior assistant with high-level credentials such as Barker or Montgomery.
It is understood the 55-year-old is not interested in a succession plan at the Lions and would be unlikely to take the role in those circumstances.
Stuart Dew told the Sydney Swans late last month he would not pursue the position, while Brett Ratten has also reportedly decided not to chase the role after meeting with Lions chiefs.
The Lions have already met with Fagan, who is now free to put all of his energy into the senior position after Hawthorn's finals exit last Friday night.
It is understood Barker was waiting for incoming football manager David Noble to take up his new position before talks started.
The Lions have assembled a five-person panel to select their new coach, which will include Noble, who is yet to be formally announced, and CEO Greg Swann.
Rounding out the panel is club great Simon Black, list manager and former Hawthorn coach Peter Schwab, and consultant and psychologist Matti Clements, who was a member of the panel that selected St Kilda coach Alan Richardson.
