As a coach, Todd's style was generally regarded as that of the "old school" drill sergeant. While he learned to adjust his approach over time, he never compromised when it came to discipline. He was not afraid to drop or sack players, regardless of their stature, if he felt they did not meet his standards, and pushed his players to their limits on the training track to test their resolve.
South Fremantle Football Club (WANFL) (1959, 1966–1968) Todd first coached his old club
South Fremantle as a captain-coach in 1959, then after his retirement as a player, Todd returned to coach from 1966 to
1968, after which he wrote for
The West Australian during
the 1970 season.
East Fremantle Football Club (WANFL) (1973–1976) Todd then crossed to rivals in
1973, and won his first WANFL premiership as coach in
1974. Todd the left East Fremantle Football Club at the end of
1976.
Swan Districts Football Club (WANFL/WAFL) (1977–1987) Todd took up the coaching position at in
1977. Over the course of his coaching career in the WAFL, Todd guided his teams to seven Grand finals and won six of them. Ironically, he considered the Swan District team of 1980, which lost that season's
Grand Final to his old side South Fremantle, as the best team he had coached. While at Swans in 1982, Todd caused controversy by sending a team of reserves and colts to Melbourne to compete in the
Escort Cup quarter-final against VFL club . Todd's actions were in protest to a change of the quarter-final schedule, which he felt would be detrimental to his senior team's performance in the WAFL. The inexperienced team lost by 186 points, and Swan Districts was banned from the Escort Cup for two years.
West Coast Eagles (VFL) (1988–1989) In October 1987, Todd was due to fly to Adelaide to sign with SANFL club
Woodville. But the management of the fledgling
West Coast Eagles in the
VFL league managed to get hold of him first and secure his signature as senior coach for the
1988 VFL season after they had just sacked
Ron Alexander. One of Todd's first moves as senior coach of West Coast was to field almost two different teams: one to play at home in Perth and one to play interstate. While there would be a nucleus of key players for all the matches, Todd declared that he would pick his teams for interstate matches based on who could cope best with the different conditions.
Legacy and coaching statistics In addition to his 721 league games as coach, Todd also coached
Western Australia for 14 games, to take his total to 735 games. He also coached six
International Rules tests for Australia. In all, Todd coached in seven Grand Finals, winning six of them. He felt though that the one defeat was with the best team he had coached - the 1980 Swan Districts team, which won their first 13 games during the
home-and-away season but lost to South Fremantle in the
Grand Final. Todd was inducted into the
Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2003 as a coach and was a legend of the
West Australian Football Hall of Fame. ==Death==