Since the end of his coaching career, Malthouse has continued his involvement in football through his media commitments, especially with ABC Radio.

[1] Recruited from North Ballarat,[2] Malthouse started his football career with St Kilda in 1972, playing 53 senior games including three finals.

After being told by then-senior coach Allan Jeans that he would struggle to get a game in the senior side due to a surfeit of similar-skilled players, he departed for Richmond midway through the 1976 season.

In 1982 Malthouse managed to play every game of the home-and-away season for the first time in his career, only to suffer a dislocated shoulder in the lead-up to the Grand Final.

[5][6][4] After Ian Hampshire unexpectedly quit as Footscray senior coach in early January, Malthouse decided to return from holiday with his family after hearing about the sudden vacancy on the radio.

Malthouse left the financially stricken club at the end of 1989, weeks before it announced its intentions to merge with Fitzroy; the merger never ultimately went ahead due to a supporter fightback, and Malthouse was criticised by his assistant coach Terry Wheeler for not sticking by his club during its time of need.

In one of the boilovers of the season, Hawthorn weathered the best the Eagles threw at them in the first quarter and eventually ran out winners by 23 points.

During his tenure as senior coach of the West Coast Eagles, the club under Malthouse made the finals every year, including 1992 and 1994 premierships and 1991 grand finalists as runners-up.

[19][20][9] In the 2004 season, Collingwood's on-field performance under Malthouse dropped when they finished thirteenth with eight wins and fourteen losses.

In the 2005 season, Collingwood went from bad to worse when they finished fifteenth (second-last) on the ladder with five wins and seventeen losses.

[19][20] In July 2009, Collingwood Football Club president Eddie McGuire produced a succession plan in which Malthouse was to hand over the coaching reins to club legend and assistant coach Nathan Buckley at the end of the 2011 season.

[23][22][20] Malthouse also stated that he would not be taking on the position as Director of Coaching at Collingwood after the loss and that he had made this decision six weeks earlier.

[24] In addition, while coaching Collingwood, Malthouse spent time as a guest media commentator for SEN 1116.

[25] Malthouse then stated that the director of coaching job description role he had agreed to in the middle of 2009 was nothing like how it was going to look in actuality at the end of 2011.

“I must have spoken to Nathan Buckley, I can’t remember when, and he said ‘Look, I don’t want you in the coaches’ box, which I can understand, but he should have said at the time when they signed the deal” Malthouse said.

[26][27] In the 2013 season, the Blues under Malthouse initially finished ninth on the ladder with eleven wins and eleven losses, but were promoted to eighth place, therefore being granted a place in the finals after Essendon were relegated to ninth position after being penalised for their well-documented supplements scandal.

A one-point win over Port Adelaide in the final round prevented North Melbourne from overtaking Carlton on percentage.

As the club's on-field performances deteriorated, there was intense media speculation about Malthouse's position, as well as the public relationship between Malthouse and club administration, most notably president Mark LoGiudice and CEO Steven Trigg, who had both been in the roles since mid-2014.

[38] "It came as a great shock to most of the board members that the plan was totally unachievable in that time frame, and that in fact, until the constraints of contract management were lifted we were going to stay a middle-of-the-road team".

In 2016, Malthouse replaced Dermott Brereton as a commentator of matches on SEN 1116 as well as being named coach of The Recruit.

The aim is to place more emphasis on the non-academic side of campus life: practical experience, teamwork, leadership skills and community involvement.

"[43] Malthouse has been described as a "remote and intimidating character, an old fashioned patrician whose passion for the game could never be questioned but whose love of its people was never expressed" and a "consummate football politician".

"Malthouse's ability to adapt to a game that is virtually unrecognisable is testament to his insatiable appetite to compete and win".

[44] Former West Coast Eagles CEO Brian Cook, who worked with Malthouse at the helm of Malthouse's tenure as senior coach of West Coast Eagles stated "His dedication and his determination are old-school values which he certainly had as a young coach.