Tasmanian-born coach Chris Fagan is stepping down at the Brisbane Lions, days after leading the club to a third straight AFL premiership.
The 65-year-old will not return for an 11th season in charge, despite having a year left on his contract. He told players and staff at a meeting this afternoon, ahead of the club’s best and fairest night.
Brisbane was second bottom when Fagan arrived in 2017. The Lions have made the finals every year since 2019 and played in the past four grand finals, winning three of them.
On Saturday, the Lions came from behind to beat Fremantle 14.12 (96) to 12.17 (89).
The win made Brisbane the third side this century to win three premierships in a row, after the Lions of 2001-03 and Hawthorn in 2013-15.
A new coach will now lead the club’s bid for a fourth straight flag, which has not been done since Collingwood’s run from 1927-30.
Fagan had not ruled out the grand final being his last game and after the win he hinted at his plans.
“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.
“There’s a little bit inside of me who’d rather walk away when the team’s on top, I’ve got to be honest. It’s sort of the dream way to finish, in many ways.”
Born in Queenstown, Fagan played in premierships with Hobart and Devonport but never at the top level. He coached Melbourne’s reserves and worked at Hawthorn before joining Brisbane.
His mother, Beth Fagan, spoke to 7NEWS at Hobart Airport before flying to Melbourne for the grand final.
“I’m very, very proud of Chris and what he’s done. Took him a long time to get there. But he’s done it,” she said.
After Brisbane’s 2024 premiership, Fagan took the cup to the West Coast for a community event. West Coast Mayor Shane Pitt said at the time it was a “measure of his generousness and sincerity”.
Brisbane football boss Danny Daly has confirmed he wants to become a senior coach. He has previously knocked back interest from Gold Coast, Collingwood, Essendon, West Coast and Melbourne.
Daly also floated midfield coach Cam Bruce as a possible replacement, while Fagan had been talking up backline coach Dale Morris.
