Melbourne have sacked premiership coach Simon Goodwin just days after an 83-point win over West Coast, with assistant Troy Chaplin taking over for the rest of the AFL season.

Goodwin, whose contract ran until the end of 2026, learned of the decision on Monday night.

The 48-year-old’s future has been uncertain since starting the season with five straight defeats, before another recent five-match losing streak ended their finals hopes.

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today

The historic fourth-quarter collapse to St Kilda late last month ratcheted up the pressure but Goodwin was adamant his future was secure.

Melbourne’s decision to sack Goodwin comes despite uncertainty around their key leadership roles.

Former captain Brad Green stepped up as interim president last year and will be replaced by club great Steven Smith later this year, with interim CEO David Chippindall also filling in ahead of his replacement Paul Guerra’s formal start date.

“The board and I came to the decision earlier this week that it is time for a new voice to lead our AFL playing group and program forward,” Green said in a statement.

“Simon has given every ounce of his passion and energy to our club over his 11 years here, and as we look to transition to our next AFL premiership, the board believes that a new senior coach is required to maximise the opportunity ahead of us.

“Obviously, decisions like these are never easy to come to, but ultimately, we have made this decision in the best interests of the football club.

“While Simon leaves an incredible legacy, it is now time for someone else to take the reins and bring with them new energy and new ideas to revitalise our playing list and program.

“As a club we have confidence in our playing group and what it can achieve, this decision is about ensuring we maximise our potential and put the right person in place to drive us to our next AFL premiership.”

Green thanked Goodwin for winning the 2021 premiership before looking ahead to the search for their next coach.

The vacancy could hold appeal for premiership coaches Adam Simpson and John Longmire, who have spent this year working in the media after their respective exits from West Coast and Sydney.

Long-time Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley is also three games away from handing his job over to Josh Carr.

“We will now commence our search for the next senior coach of the Melbourne Football Club,” Green said.

“As you all know, this is a crucial appointment and one which will significantly shape the future of our club. The board will assemble a panel to lead the search for our next senior coach.

“We will confirm the full structure of the panel early next week, but for now I ask that today we focus on celebrating and thanking Simon Goodwin for his incredible contribution to our footy club.”

Goodwin was sacked despite saying last week he felt “incredibly supported by the board”.

“We’ve been able to go through these challenges before with clarity and strength and stability to create success,” he said.

“In 2019 we finished second last, two years later we won the flag. You can’t get consumed in noise.

“All you can do is be really clear about your strategy, clear about your process, understand the challenge ... and go about the process to build the next great team.”

Goodwin, a dual Adelaide premiership player, took over at the Dees in 2017 and became the man to lead the team back to the finals after more than a decade of woe.

But their run to a preliminary final was immediately followed by a woeful 2019 season with just five wins.

Melbourne improved in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and everything came together in 2021, when the Demons won their first flag since 1964.

Two straight-sets exits followed to kick off a series of trade bombshells that never came to be.

Clayton Oliver was urged to shape up or move on at the end of the 2023 season, while 12 months later Christian Petracca explored a move amid tensions over his serious internal injuries suffered in the King’s Birthday blockbuster.

The club’s culture under Goodwin also came under question before then chief executive Gary Pert put the “three years of allegations and innuendo” to bed, with the coach avoiding the sack at the end of 2024.

Pert subsequently left the club while former president Kate Roffey also exited in the wake of the Oliver and Petracca situations.

Keen to put the dramas behind them, Melbourne entered this year preaching love and connection but it failed to turn into on-field success.

Oliver and Petracca are yet to return to the peaks of 2021-22 though captain Max Gawn has continued to thrive and could earn an eighth All Australian blazer this year.

Goodwin has been sacked with 111 wins from 202 games in charge of the Dees.

“People would sit back and say it’s surprising when you first hear it but then since that 2021 season, they have three of the best midfielders in the comp and they have the best ruckman,” Channel 7’s Luke Hodge said on SEN on Tuesday morning.

“For them to go out after that in straight sets after that, you sit back now and say the writing has been on the wall.

“Questions about whether he could develop this list have been asked. It’s always a sad day, though, especially for someone that won the flag.

“It’s tough that it lays on the coach but that’s their role.

“Where else have we questioned that football club over the last few years — we’ve questioned the culture, Oliver, Petracca and his injury. That’s more than just the coach but it always falls back on to them.”

As well as Chaplin, Goodwin’s coaching staff featured former Crows teammate Nathan Bassett, Demons great Nathan Jones, Port premiership coach Mark Williams and Sam Radford, with the VFL side coached by Taylor Whitford.

Former St Kilda coach Alan Richardson heads up Melbourne’s football department.

- with AAP