MARK Neeld has as much chance of gaining another senior AFL coach position as David Warner has of making a sensible decision after a few drinks.

Sacked AFL coaches, these days, don’t get second chances, and unfortunately for Neeld, he didn’t show anywhere near enough in 33 matches at Melbourne to warrant a future offer from another club.

But he won’t be lost to the highest levels of the AFL.

Neeld will be back in a lofty assistant coach role in 2014, and might even find himself asked to consult for a finals-bound club in the latter stages of this year.

Neeld has remained close with Mick Malthouse, who elevated him above all of his other assistants in the final two seasons in which he was in charge at Collingwood.

Malthouse won’t be judging Neeld any differently to the way he did before he began his disastrous stint at Melbourne.

Back then, Malthouse regularly mentioned privately how impressive Neeld was in challenging viewpoints and identifying and facilitating facets of improvement.

If Malthouse can convince the Carlton board to part with more cash for his football department, rest assured Neeld will come under serious consideration.

Collingwood would also loom as a potential place of employment. Nathan Buckley has always respected him. Likewise Brad Scott.

Sacked senior coaches may not loom as senior coach options at rival clubs any more, but they do loom very large as assistant coach options.

The record Neeld compiled at Melbourne – just five wins (three times against GWS) and 28 losses, with 17 of those defeats coming at an average nine goals – suggested Neeld was not a good senior coach.

That, of course, is too simplistic a manner in which to properly assess his ability, particularly when we know of the turmoil, scandal, and hopelessness which engulfed the Demons in his short time.

Neeld attempted massive change, which was always going to be extremely difficult with the group of players he had at his disposal and in the timeframe he designated.

Yet Neeld said at his departure press conference that he would not have done one thing differently.

We’d suggest that, time over again, he wouldn’t have created situations which saw Brent Moloney and Jared Rivers walk out. That he wouldn’t have installed two kids as co-captains. That he wouldn’t have brain-faded in last year’s trade period and added to the Demons’ list four players who would not be playing at any other club.

He made bad mistakes, and paid the price. Everything he learnt as an assistant coach told him to do things his own way when he got the chance at being No.1.

It didn’t work out.

Maybe Neeld was never cut out for a senior posting. Maybe the Melbourne job post-Dean Bailey was poisoned.

Maybe Neeld was just always meant to be a high-end assistant.

Which he will be, again, next year. He’ll even have the luxury of choice.