Caretaker Brisbane Lions mentor Mark Harvey believes Michael Voss's passion for the game and his tactical nous will see him coach again in the AFL.
Former Fremantle coach Harvey has been promoted from his senior assistant role at the Lions for the final three rounds of the season after Voss was suddenly dumped on Tuesday.
Admitting to plenty of empathy for Voss, after he himself was blindsided similarly by the Dockers two years ago, the 48-year-old felt the Brisbane great was unlucky to be cut when his team was showing great promise.
"I've been through a similar scenario and you always like to think that you can coach a team, when you have just about got it ready to do something special, and Vossy would fall into that category," Harvey said on Friday.
"It's unfortunate that it's happened."
Harvey, who coached Fremantle for five seasons before being replaced by Ross Lyon, has worked beside Voss as an assistant for two years and seen him develop as a mentor.
Voss this week said he was unsure whether he would continue to coach in the AFL.
But Harvey expected Voss to look for a new club.
"It's a real passion for him," Harvey said. "He gives it his full commitment.
"He's astute. He knows what he's doing so I would reckon you'll see in the next month or two that's the way he's heading."
"In my two years that I've been here I thought he was really starting to progress with the way he led the team.
"The club thought different and they move on."
While Harvey will take Brisbane's reins, starting Saturday night against his old Essendon mentor Kevin Sheedy's side, Greater Western Sydney, he has no interest in replacing Voss full-time.
The former Bombers premiership player said he felt best suited to a senior assistant's role, which he also thoroughly enjoyed.
"I've really grown in that job and probably that's where I see myself," he said.
Harvey said it depended on the Lions and their new coach as to whether he would remain in Brisbane next season.
"I'm more than comfortable in what I'm doing in the game, whether that's here or somewhere else, we'll see what happens," he said.
"Watching these younger players mature, they're starting to get to the levels that you would get excited about, and Vossy has had a lot to do with the maturity and the way they are thinking about their football.
"You always like to see how they progress and see how far they go."
