When opportunities at home are limited, the short-term answer is to look overseas, as is starting to happen in England now.
After years of sitting on the sidelines in the Premier League, young talents are starting to try their luck elsewhere such as Jadon Sancho with Borussia Dortmund.
A long-time weakness of English football, the reluctance of good players to challenge themselves abroad, is starting to be addressed.
Australian coaches should do the same and look to the international arena. More Aussie coaches working professionally is obviously beneficial for the country as a whole.
European posts are going to be difficult given that Australian football and/or coaches are not held in such a high regard.
Which leaves Asia as an obvious destination.
Some have made the step, but not that many. The highest-profile is obviously Ange Postecoglou, aiming to change the way Yokohama F. Marinos play and restore the former giants of Japanese football to former glory.
It is rare to see a foreign coach from anywhere try and do both in a strange country where the pressure to win exceeds that of Australia.
The former Socceroos coach deserves credit for his attitude even if it does not lead to trophies. If it does, then it will be quite an achievement.
Then there is Mehmet Durakovic, flying the flag for Australia in South-east Asia.
The former Melbourne Victory coach also deserve plaudits simply for surviving in what can be a cut-throat and logic-free world of Malaysian football.
It takes a certain sort of cultural sensitivity just to get started and many fine coaches have found that out to their cost.
Yet in five-and-a-half years with just two clubs, he has demonstrated staying power in a demanding country.
It doesn’t always work - this is football after all. Graham Arnold should be applauded for trying in Japan even if his stint with Vegalta Sendai was short and far from sweet.
For Australian coaches there is going to be major culture shocks in how football and clubs work in Asia but seeing this first hand is a real eye-opener and learning experience.
Aussie coaches still have decent reputations in Asia, though the Portuguese are the flavour of the season in many parts of the continent, adding to the long-standing preference for Brazilians, French, Serbian and German bosses that can be found.
Opportunities are always there though and it is here where coaches would benefit from closer football ties with the continent to the north, especially the closest region of South-east Asia.
Korea and Japan have long cultivated connections in countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia which, among other things, give their coaches places to go.
Indonesia is Australia’s closest northern neighbour and, as the biggest country in South-east Asia, would be a perfect way to start engaging with that region.
Closer relations between the two federations and leagues would be a great start and could also lead to more opportunities for Aussie coaches in a massive and challenging football landscape.
If you can survive in Indonesia then you can survive anywhere.
Turnover is rapid there as it is elsewhere in South-east Asia. Aurelio Vidmar found that to his cost with a short stint at Bangkok Glass, though stints have been short at the Thai club for some time, but that does add to the number of jobs available. And it does not always look bad on CVs.
Plenty of coaches who land plumb jobs all over the continent have resumes as long as an Aaron Mooy piledriver.
But if South-east Asia is a good starting point, there are plenty of other places. India is going to be a place to be in the coming years and Central Asia is becoming more open to overseas bosses.
West Asia is not all Sheikhs and shiny stadiums. The UAE and Saudi Arabia may still like to go for the big names from the so-called ‘big countries’ but there are fascinating leagues in countries like Lebanon, Jordan and Oman who are open to outsiders.
With the benefits of English and a background in an advanced sporting country, Australian coaches have much to offer. And so does Asia. If the opportunities can’t be found at home then it makes sense to cast the net wider and Asia is nothing, if not wide.
