Port Adelaide secured the "junkyard dog" they were after, with former North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley joining the AFL club's coaching staff.

The Power announced on Tuesday that Laidley would focus on "strategy and innovation" with the Power, under head coach Mark Williams, after signing a two-year-old deal.

The 42-year-old, nicknamed the Junkyard Dog during his playing career for his tough style, will also have a match day coaching role with the midfield alongside Matthew Primus.

Laidley coached the Kangaroos from 2003 until his departure from the club after the round 12 loss to Adelaide in June.

Williams, who received a text from Laidley during the Brownlow Medal presentation accepting the position, said he had been desperate to sign Laidley.

"It's brilliant, it really is a new beginning for us," Williams said on Tuesday.

"I was desperate to try and get Dean to come.

"It's pretty hard to get a 'junkyard dog' into your side, (but now) we've got one.

"We have great assistant coaches but in the scheme of trying to improve we wanted to get Dean, who has not only been an outstanding senior coach but also an outstanding assistant coach.

"He will challenge us and the way we actually play. There's a whole lot of things that are in Dean's coaching (repertoire) that aren't in ours."

Laidley's role was still to be defined, but in addition to traditional assistant coach duties Williams said he would act as a mentor to coaches and players.

Laidley said he had no issue with reverting back to an assistant coach role.

"With me it's always been a part of a team, whether you're the senior coach or a part of it and my ego has never got in the way of that and it never will," he said.

Laidley guided North Melbourne to finals in three of his past four completed seasons in charge.

He said he was looking forward to helping Williams and the Power return to the top eight.

"I can see where Port Adelaide want to get to over the next few years and I think it's going to be really exciting," he said on Tuesday.

"My first priority is to be there to support Mark and help Mark and I'm sure we can learn a lot off each other and I just think it's a great opportunity.

"It looks like there has been unrest but after speaking to everyone at the football club what I've found is that they are all on the same page and they're desperate to make sure Port Adelaide is successful and I think I can help along that path."

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