Northern Territory Football League club Darwin Buffaloes have appointed one of its favourite sons in Phillip Wills as its new Premier League coach.

The champion NTFL player will take over from Rick Bean, who departed the club last week, just three months after accepting the position as head coach.

Wills has played more than 250 NTFL games for the Buffaloes, Nightcliff and Palmerston in an illustrious career that has spanned well over a decade.

The tenacious midfielder began his career at the Buffaloes, claiming multiple best-and-fairest honours before joining Nightcliff ahead of the 2017/18 season.

He became a member of three consecutive premiership teams for the Tigers and won the competition's highest individual honour – the Nichols Medal – in 2018/19.

Wills has also played 57 games for the now disbanded NT Thunder.

He will be supported by his father Nathan Wills, who joins the Buffaloes in an assistant coaching capacity.

The Darwin Buffaloes issued a statement expressing their excitement about welcoming a favourite son back to the club.

"We are excited to announce the appointment of Phillip Wills as the Men's Premier League Head Coach," it read.

"Both (Phillip and Nathan) are well-known figures in the double blue, having enjoyed long and successful careers with the club.

"Phillip is a life member of the Buffaloes, having played 150 games and earned multiple best and fairest awards (while) Nathan had a senior playing career that spanned over a decade and has coached for many years at both junior and senior levels.

"Phillip and Nathan will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience, along with high standards to the club."

It has been a tumultuous pre-season for the Buffaloes, who recently moved their home base from Darwin's northern suburbs to Palmerston.

After outgoing coach Cam Stokes decided to step down at the end of last season, the club appointed Rick Bean in late May.

However, Buffaloes president Brenda Atkinson released a statement last week detailing that Bean had told the club that he would be stepping down due to personal commitments.

"(Last week) a meeting was held between the Premier League Men's coach Rick Bean and members of the committee where he advised he was no longer able to continue in the role due to family commitments," Atkinson said.

"Rick was appointed to the role in May and quickly set about planning for the season ahead.

"The committee thank Rick for his service to the club and wish him well for the future."