Updated ,first published
Triple-premiership coach Chris Fagan says he has given it his all but has decided now is the right time to retire as coach of the Brisbane Lions, just days after leading the club to a historic third flag on Saturday.
The 65-year-old told players and staff of his intentions at a meeting on Thursday afternoon ahead of the club’s best and fairest night.
He departs on top with one year remaining on his contract, having coached the team into the past four grand finals for three premierships after taking the position in 2017 at the age of 55 when the Lions were second bottom on the ladder.
Fagan coached the team to five wins in each of his first two seasons as coach before leading the club into the finals for the first time in 2019. They have not missed the finals since and achieved the three-peat with a remarkable comeback against Fremantle in Saturday’s grand final.
“As you’ve come to know I’ve been thinking about this for some time and I’m comfortable that now is the right time for [wife] Ursula and I to return to Melbourne to be closer to our family,” Fagan said in a statement.
“Telling the players and football staff [on Thursday] was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life. Together, we have been on a mission to make the Lions the most entertaining and competitive team in the competition, and we have done that. I was grateful to be given the role to coach the club, and it has been an incredible ride.
“I especially want to thank Ursula and my daughters Jessica and Ellen for their incredible support over the journey, they have backed me through thick and thin.
“This job is all encompassing; I’ve given it my absolute all and I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved, but now is the right time to go.
“The boys will continue to contend, and I’ll be their No.1 fan, but a fresh face at the helm will be a key pillar for the players to come back to next season, as they work hard to achieve more success.
“I’ll miss the club and it will feel strange not to be involved but for the last 10 years I’ve thought about nothing other than how we can improve, get better and be successful. To see the club develop onfield from cellar dwellers to three-time premiers has been amazing.
“The Lions are the sum of our parts and everyone across the club has played their role.”
Lions chair Andrew Wellington expressed gratitude on behalf of the club not only to Fagan but his family, including his two daughters Jessica and Ellen.
“He led with humility, without ego and with an unwavering commitment to helping those around him become better,” Wellington said.
“His influence has reached far beyond the Brisbane Lions. Chris has helped strengthen football across Queensland, inspired a new generation of players and supporters, and earned the respect of the wider football public for the way he has carried himself through success and adversity.”
From Tasmania, Fagan, a premiership player with Hobart and Devonport, did not play football at the top level. He began his remarkable career as an administrator and coach when the late Neale Daniher appointed him to be Melbourne’s reserves coach in 1998.
He then became an assistant coach at Hawthorn before progressing to become their football boss and was a key figure alongside senior coach Alastair Clarkson in the Hawks’ three-peat between 2013-15.
He left at the end of 2016 and then became embroiled in the AFL’s Hawthorn racism investigation, which ended up being resolved at the Human Rights Commission. The AFL found no adverse findings in relation to Fagan, who always denied wrongdoing, in their investigation, but the publicity took a toll on him.
Fagan is now a legend at the Lions, standing alongside his mentor and friend, AFL legend Leigh Matthews as a triple-premiership Lions’ coach. His winning record in the past four seasons as coach of the Lions has been 70 per cent, but he has admitted at times he has felt more stress coaching a team in premiership contention than he did when the team was rebuilding.
It is likely the AFL’s incoming new club, the Tasmania Devils, will pursue Fagan to sit on their board as a director after he has a break.
Fagan did not shy away from discussion that the grand final might be his final match as coach in the lead-up to the match and gave an indication as to which way he was leaning after the win.
“It might sound like a strange thing for me to say after we just won a premiership, but I don’t really want to be that guy who hangs around until we fail,” he said.
In a statement shared by the Lions, football manager Danny Daly said he would miss Fagan but was happy that he got to leave as a winner and on his own terms.
“I’m forever grateful he backed me in to be the football manager, and I hope I have been able to repay him,” Daly said.
“The journey has been amazing, 10 years, eight finals campaigns, four grand finals and three premierships, it’s a record which over time we will come to appreciate a lot more.
“I’m forever grateful that these aside, my family and I were able to be part of his and Ursula’s family life and forge a great and everlasting friendship.”
Daly and assistant coach Cameron Bruce are among the potential candidates to replace Fagan. The Lions are expected to look broadly before they settle on a new coach.
“Chris’ achievements speak for themselves, but his greatest legacy is the environment he created, the people he developed and how he has nurtured this playing group,” CEO Sam Graham said.
“Today is a day to celebrate the contribution of Chris Fagan, Ursula and their family, and we will announce the next steps to appoint our next senior coach in due course.”
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