Brenton Sanderson is puzzled as to why he was sacked as Adelaide coach but refuses to blame senior players for knifing him in the back.
Sanderson, who is already fielding calls from other AFL clubs, was blindsided by his axing on Wednesday.
"It is a shock for me obviously because I didn't see it coming," he told reporters on Thursday.
Senior Adelaide players criticised Sanderson in post-season interviews, prompting a review which led to his sacking despite holding a contract for another two years.
Crows chairman Rob Chapman denied star players Patrick Dangerfield and Taylor Walker, among others, threatened to walk out of the club if Sanderson remained.
"That gun was never levelled at my head," Chapman told reporters on Thursday.
Chapman said senior players supported the decision to remove Sanderson.
"I'm very confident they're on the same page as the board," he said.
But Sanderson didn't believe he had lost player support.
"My relationship with the players is really strong ... my phone has been ringing off the hook with some emotional players who are really disappointed," he said.
Adelaide's search for a new coach immediately hit a hump when choice candidate, former Crows captain Simon Goodwin, signed with Melbourne.
Goodwin is leaving an assistant coaching job at Essendon to be Paul Roos' senior assistant for the next two years before taking the head coach role at the Demons.
Adelaide powerbroker Mark Ricciuto, a close mate of Goodwin, was part of a four-member review panel which recommended Sanderson be ousted.
Ricciuto rang Goodwin on Wednesday night to canvas his interest but it was too late - he was committed to Melbourne.
"I got a call from Roo (Ricciuto) late last night just to see where my thinking was," Goodwin told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.
"He sussed me out to see where I was with Melbourne."
Crows boss Chapman said premiership coaches, including those currently employed at other clubs, were on Adelaide's hit-list.
"That gene pool isn't very deep. There are only a select number ... many of them are in current jobs so we may have to wait a while," he said.
Ex-West Coast coach John Worsfold fits the bill but Essendon's Mark Thompson has already ruled himself out.
Sydney assistant Stuart Dew is considered a frontrunner as Sanderson tries to come to terms with his sudden removal.
Asked why he lost his job, Sanderson replied: "I'm not sure."
"There were some reasons Rob and the board went through and I have just got to live with the decision that has been made," he said, declining to elaborate.
"I respect the board's decision. I don't necessarily agree with it."
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