Matthew Nicks has been appointed coach of AFL club Adelaide.
Nicks replaces Don Pyke, who quit last month.
The appointment of Nicks was confirmed by the Crows on Tuesday before an afternoon media conference.
Nicks was a senior assistant coach at GWS last season, joining the Giants after filling various assistant coaching roles at Port Adelaide since 2011.
The 44-year-old takes over at Adelaide with the Crows in a state of flux, missing the finals for the past two seasons after losing the 2017 grand final.
In addition to Pyke’s resignation, Taylor Walker has stood down as co-captain and an external review into the club resulted in the sackings of football manager Brett Burton and senior assistant coach Scott Camporeale.
Several players are exiting the South Australian club with confirmed moves of Eddie Betts to Carlton and Cam Ellis-Yolmen to Brisbane the first in a string of departures before Wednesday night’s end to the trade period.
Ruckman Sam Jacobs (GWS), defender Alex Keath (St Kilda) and utility Hugh Greenwood (Gold Coast) are all expected to move on while key forward Josh Jenkins is seeking a trade but has yet to field an offer.
Forward Riley Knight is off-contract and has been linked to Sydney while several rival clubs including Gold Coast have pitched multi-million dollar offers to midfielder and reigning club champion Brad Crouch, who is contracted until the end of the 2020 season
The Adelaide-born Nicks is the ninth man appointed as full-time coach of the Crows since the club’s AFL inception in 1991.
Nicks played 175 AFL games for Sydney from 1996-2005 after being recruited from West Adelaide in the SANFL.
MATTHEW NICKS AT A GLANCE
* Age: 44
* Born: Adelaide, South Australia
* GWS senior assistant coach 2019
* Port Adelaide assistant coach from 2011-18
* AFL games: 175 for Sydney from 1996-2005
