The Western Bulldogs have their man, appointing Luke Beveridge as senior coach for the next three AFL seasons.
If Beveridge was not their first choice, he was always near the top of the list after Brendan McCartney resigned on October 10.
Bulldogs chief executive Simon Garlick admitted at Friday's announcement that they headhunted Beveridge.
He ticks all the boxes for the cash-strapped, struggling `Dogs - a highly-regarded coach with plenty of experience as an assistant at successful AFL clubs.
Most recently, he ran Hawthorn's defence as they won back-to-back premierships.
Beveridge had left the Hawks after three years and was about to start at St Kilda as director of coaching when the Bulldogs made their approach.
And while Beveridge is untried as an AFL senior coach, that also means he has come cheaper for the Bulldogs.
His appointment means all AFL senior coaching roles are confirmed for next season.
"We'd obviously been following Luke's progress and we were pretty impressed," Garlick said.
"There was bit of knowledge about Luke throughout the (selection) committee, so we contacted him."
While it is no guarantee of success, the smoothness of Beveridge's appointment contrasts sharply with what has happened at some other clubs.
Ken Hinkley has been an outstanding success, but he was famously the "last man standing" in late 2012 before Port Adelaide signed him.
The Bulldogs formally interviewed Beveridge on Wednesday and he will hit the ground running, with the club desperately needing stability.
The full team will start pre-season training on Monday.
McCartney left a day after captain Ryan Griffen sensationally quit to join Greater Western Sydney.
There had been weeks of growing speculation about unrest at Whitten Oval and Griffen's departure sealed McCartney's fate.
"It's important that straight away, all the players and the coaches and the supporters and the administration feel like, 'righto, we've got to pick ourselves up and get moving really quickly'," Beveridge said.
One of his first jobs will be to oversee the appointment of a new captain.
"My philosophy is that you have to appoint the person who is right for it at the time," he said.
"If it is for one year, that is okay, as long as they're the right person."
Beveridge admitted that nostalgia was one reason he will coach the Bulldogs.
He played for them as well as Melbourne and St Kilda in his 118-game AFL career.
Beveridge and Garlick thanked the Saints for letting him pass up his new role there and join the Bulldogs.
Since losing a preliminary final in 2010, the Bulldogs have never made the top eight.
The Dogs finished 14th in 2014 and 15th in the two seasons prior.
Beveridge was unwilling to forecast "ladder positions" in his first season at the helm.
"As long as I am senior coach, I won't talk about prospects," he said.
"We'll be trying to explore how far we can do and doing everything we can to get to where we'd like to go."
But he said the club had an exciting young list and there is scope for dramatic improvement.
LUKE BEVERIDGE
* DOB: 23/8/70
* Played 118 AFL games from 1989-99 with Melbourne, Footscray (Bulldogs) and St Kilda
* Triple premiership coach at amateur club St Bede's/Mentone 2006-08
* Player development manager at Collingwood in their 2010 premiership season
* Assistant coach for past three years at Hawthorn, who have won the last two premierships
* Appointed as St Kilda's director of coaching before headhunted by Bulldogs.
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