The Demons announced at a press conference at midday on Monday that the 45-year-old Viney is the short-term replacement for Dean Bailey, who was sacked as senior coach by the club's board on Sunday night.
Bailey's position had become untenable after his team's 186-point loss to Geelong at Skilled Stadium on Saturday.
Recruited from SANFL club Sturt, Viney played 233 games for the Demons between 1987 and 1999, and was captain in his final two seasons.
A courageous midfielder, he quit the club in early 1996 to become the fitness coach of tennis player Mark Philippoussis.
But when that arrangement failed to work out, he returned and recaptured his best form, winning Melbourne's best and fairest in 1998 (he also won the award in '93).
Viney first joined the Demons' coaching staff in 2000 when he was a midfield coach under Neale Daniher.
He then had a short stint as the senior coach of Moama, a club based in southern New South Wales, which plays in the Murray Football League.
Alastair Clarkson enticed Viney to Hawthorn in 2005 and he was part of the coaching team that led the Hawks to the 2008 premiership.
He then spent two seasons at Adelaide before returning to Melbourne as the head of its player development program.
