The coaching landscape in this big brown land has changed markedly in recent times.

The Socceroos have recently anointed a new coach, Pim Verbeek.

Kiwi Robbie Deans is the raging hot favourite to replace Sunshine Coast-based John Connolly in the Wallabies hot seat.

And Tim Nielsen has enjoyed a great start after taking over from our most successful-ever cricket coach in John Buchanan.

However, coaching – particularly when it comes to the more high profile sports – is not just about moving a few names around a whiteboard anymore.

It’s a demanding, seven-days-a-week gig that involves media and sponsor commitments on top of the core objective of a coach’s role – to develop a successful team.

Speaking to the Daily last week, Nielsen admitted the sheer weight of demand for his time during his first few months in charge of Australia’s most respected team had taken him a little by surprise.

It’s no doubt 20-fold more than what he was used to when enjoying relative anonymity during his long career as a wicketkeeper for South Australia.

“It’s just the general day-to-day logistical stuff that goes with working with the Aussie cricket team that’s the challenge,” he said.

“The batting and bowling stuff I feel comfortable with, but until you’re within the confines of the team you don’t realise the demands on the players’ time and that everyone wants a piece of them.

“It’s little things like that that make it tougher than you initially think.”

As a result, Nielsen has had to take a crash course in public relations to ensure he portrays the image his bosses and Australian cricket’s sponsors would like him to.

And after our chat, I got the impression he’s done a pretty good job.

That’s why I’m hoping Football Federation Australia took Verbeek’s ability to fulfil his "extra-curricular" duties into consideration when they offered him the Socceroos post.

And Deans may have led the Canterbury Crusaders to a hatful of Super rugby titles, but does he have what it takes to ensure the Wallabies are a highly soughtafter brand in a very crowded Australian sporting landscape?

It seems several people are getting their noses out of joint because foreigners are being preferred over home-grown talent to coach our national teams.

But no one seemed to care when Dutchman Guus Hiddink guided the Socceroos to their first World Cup in 32 years.

Or that the pole vault coach who helped Emma George and Tatiana Grigorieva scale great heights is a Russian.

As long as whoever they choose brings the best complete package, I don’t care if he or she was brought up by a pack of wolves in a Cambodian jungle.

As long as they can nurture a successful team and portray Australian sport in a great light to the rest of the world, isn’t that the main thing?

It seems most of us have already got the knives out, just waiting for Verbeek or possibly Deans to fail.

We at least owe them a chance.