Extending coach Brenton Sanderson's contract a top priority for Adelaide Crows Adelaide is keen to extend coach Brenton Sanderson's contract before the beginning on next season. ADELAIDE has identified a contract extension offer to coach Brenton Sanderson as a priority ahead of next season to stabilise the club after a turbulent year. It is a matter of when, not if, Sanderson will be offered a new deal and it is expected to be for two years with an option for a third. Crows chief executive Steven Trigg said the club was yet to negotiate its way through the trading and drafting period and the migration to Adelaide Oval but had earmarked Sanderson's future as a priority on the agenda list to avoid needless speculation once the season starts. It puts him in a different box to St Kilda coach Scott Watters, who began senior coaching at the same time as Sanderson. Watters' future has been debated for several weeks and an air of uncertainty has developed over his tenure at the Seaford-based club. "We've become used to that as an industry; that once you're one year out, speculation starts," Trigg said. But the reality I that we think he's done a terrific job under what was difficult circumstances last year. A renewal is on the agenda, even though we have plenty of time. I don't think there's too much conjecture about that. The greatest question for Trigg and the Adelaide board is what length of tenure it will offer Sanderson. Senior coaches traditionally begin on a three-year deal and are then offered extensions that lock them away for two at a time, but Trigg said an industry-best practice was difficult to identify because of the different circumstances surrounding each coach. The conversations over Sanderson's next deal come as the Crows are gradually piecing together its SANFL side next year. The Crows have hired former Port Adelaide AFL player and respected SANFL player Jarrod Cotton as a midfield coach of the state league side in a part-time capacity. Cotton joins senior coach Heath Younie and development coaches Matthew Clarke, Peter Jonas, Tate Kaesler and Alan Stewart on the Crows' reserves side coaching panel. Cotton comes across after being the reserves senior coach at Norwood for the past two seasons. He's been assistant of Norwood's league side since 2008 and has a fine record in development coaching. "He's experienced the AFL and SANFL systems as a player and as a coach, he's been involved with senior and development programs for almost a decade," Younie said. Jarrod is a respected football person and will be a great fit as a coach and mentor to our emerging young midfielders.