After all, here is a man who coached South Fremantle remarkably well in his own right (a grand final in 2001), who had been an assistant coach during a profoundly successful West Coast era (a flag in 2006) and a more-than handy rebuild (a prelim in 2011) and who had been a key contributor to Fremantle sides that went to the finals four straight years (including a grand final in 2013).

The Dockers can dress it up all they like and say Sumich's shift to a development-focused role this year wasn't a demotion. But when you're an assistant coach with seniority and get moved - at very best - sideways, how else are you supposed to reflect on that?

My mail is Brent Guerra, a relative newcomer to AFL assistant coaching ranks, takes Fremantle training when Ross Lyon doesn't...so you can probably read between the lines there too.

I think Suma's departure - and he definitely won't be the last coach or player to go in the next few months - says much more about where Fremantle's disastrous season has gone than it does about him.

It's common knowledge that Dockers coach Ross Lyon decided to delegate more things than he had previously over the summer. Last week he conceded to us for a second time on Radio 6PR's Sports Today program that the Dockers hadn't started the season fit enough - not enough "high-density running", apparently - so it's clear that everyone wasn't on the same page at Fremantle heading into the year.

And perhaps not even at an administrative level either. Just this morning 6PR Afternoon host and Dockers board member Peter Bell said there would be a "lot of changes" and "scrutiny" going towards 2017, while chief executive Steve Rosich had pointed out on the weekend that all members of the coaching staff were contracted for next year.

It's also no secret that Lyon is a hard taskmaster, which might be a nice way of saying he's known for churning through assistant coaches. In recent years at Freo, Brett Kirk, Simon Lloyd and Todd Curley (in the very early days of Lyon's tenure) have flown the coup.

There will be inevitable comparisons between the ability of the likes of Alastair Clarkson, Dennis Pagan, Kevin Sheedy and Paul Roos to develop assistant coaches into head coaches and questions about whether Lyon has same capacity. Lyon, of course, did his apprenticeship under Roos.

Sumich's future poses an equal amount of questions. Coaching, at any level of footy, is about putting the best people in the right spots and clearly Suma wasn't being placed there at Freo.

Plenty of people are tipping he might end up back at West Coast, which is a very interesting proposition given the fact he all but had the head coaching role stitched up there in 2013 before an "optical illusion" saw it go to Adam Simpson.

Everyone knows Sumich would have loved to coach his old club so if he was prepared to go back there after that kind of disappointment, it would be a measure of the calibre of human being he is.

Strangely, the theory doing the rounds is that Sumich would go back to the Eagles to help them harden up - which would make you wonder why he didn't just get the top job in the first place when he had applied.

Adelaide, with his old Eagles teammate Don Pyke, will almost certainly call him. I'd imagine John Worsfold at Essendon might get on the blower too. Justin Leppitsch's woes at Brisbane will mean there will be whispers about the Lions but most of the ones I'm hearing are a lot more about Brett Ratten heading north.

Sumich has the option, if he wants, of going back to a job inside the family business and I think it would take a head coaching job - or, at least, the eventual promise of one - to lure him interstate.

In recent years we've seen the likes of Ken Hinkley and Alan Richardson spend an eternity as highly-rated assistant coaches before eventually getting their chances and succeeding in charge of teams.

At 48, I worry that Sumich's chance to do the same might have passed him by. I still wonder whether the stigma from that old Tip Top ad has held him back and prevented people from seeing the eloquent and intelligent person he is.

Hopefully I'm wrong because it would be a shame for a person of Suma's quality not to get the big opportunity he's craved and work so hard to earn.

Hero of the week:
Catherine Skinner going from girl shooting on the farm to Australia's first gold medallist of the 2016 Olympics is a bit like jumping in a Ferrari and jumping straight from 0 to 100km/h. A great story.

Goat of the week:
On the other hand, what was Stephen O'Keefe thinking going on a drunken bender straight after returning home from Sri Lanka early due to injury?

Things that make you go hmmmmmm:
It's pretty clear that Justin Leppitsch won't be back at the Lions next year but by complaining publicly about the way the AFL has treated Brisbane, he's pretty much inviting city hall to nix any bids he might make for future employment around the league.

Brad Hardie pens a weekly column for WAtoday. You can also hear him on Radio 6PR Sports Today with Karl Langdon on weeknights from 6pm to 8pm