Premiership icon weighs retirement with legacy cemented
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan joined the likes of Leigh Matthews, Damien Hardwick and Alastair Clarkson on Saturday afternoon as coaches to have won at least three premierships in the 21st century – but he did so in consecutive years.
Despite being on top of the world with a list that will likely continue to dominate future seasons, the master coach may be ready to call it quits.
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan with the last three premiership cups. Getty
Rumours have swirled all week that Fagan was considering stepping down as Lions head coach following the 2026 grand final.
It started with Matthews himself floating the possibility earlier in the week and continued with Brian Taylor suggesting something similar before the game.
The 65-year-old is the oldest coach in the AFL and is contracted for 2027, with the consensus earlier in the year being he would step down at that point.
Speaking candidly after the game, Fagan admitted walking away on top of the world after a third-straight flag with Brisbane was tempting.
“I’ve been coach of the club for 10 years now and I’ve got to work out whether it’s the right thing to continue on – which might sound a strange thing for me to say after we just won a premiership,” he told reporters.
“I don’t really want to be the guy that hangs around until we fail. There’s a little bit inside me that would rather walk away when the team’s on top.
“It’s sort of the dream way to finish in many ways. For most coaches, unfortunately it ends in tragedy usually. You’ve been given the boot.
“I’ve just got to work out whether I’ve still got the energy required to sort of do that relentless responsibility and pressure that comes with being an AFL coach ... it overtakes your life.”
Being an AFL coach is an all-encompassing position and one that takes a great deal out of people.
Fagan said he would weigh up whether he had another season left in him.
“I won’t take too much time (to make my decision),” he said.
“I’ve never been a coach for any personal glory. If I didn’t coach on, I’d like to do something in footy but not at the level of intensity required to be senior coach.
“It is a lifestyle – it never leaves you alone 365 days, seven days a week. It’s always in your head. You’re always thinking about the club and what’s next.
“I love all that – but you can’t do it forever.”
(L-R) Josh Dunkley, Chris Fagan, Harris Andrews and Hugh McCluggage of the Lions pose with the 2024, 2025 and 2026 Premiership Cups. AFL Photos via Getty Images
Fagan took over the Brisbane job with the club at rock bottom.
Michael Voss had pushed the list all-in on contending through aggressive trading, but that quickly fizzled out. Justin Leppitsch then took the reins and things managed to spiral even further south.
The Lions were on their knees for multiple years before Fagan arrived.
In 2013, they lost five promising young players – Sam Docherty, Elliot Yeo, Jared Polec, Billy Longer and Patrick Karenzis – in the same trade period. They would become known as the ‘Brisbane five’.
In the years that followed, they finished 15th, 17th and 17th before Fagan was appointed coach.
The first two seasons were slow. They won the wooden spoon in 2017 and finished 15th in 2018, winning five games in each season.
Blink and you'd have missed it: They've been contending for a premiership every year since.
Over the next few years, Lachie Neale arrived from Fremantle, Charlie Cameron from Adelaide, Luke Hodge from Hawthorn, Joe Daniher from Essendon.
All of those players were clearly buying what Fagan was selling.
In 2019, the Lions jumped to second and won 16 games. They would finish inside the top four in all but one year between 2019 and 2022, but could not find the finals success they were after.
Unquestionably however, Fagan had taken a team from rock bottom to a consistent finals threat and a destination club for star players.
Fagan learned the coaching ropes under Neale Daniher at Melbourne, working at the Dees as an assistant coach between 1999 and 2007, before joining Hawthorn.
At the Hawks, he served in a different capacity, working as head of coaching and development alongside Alastair Clarkson before becoming the club's general manager of football in 2013.
Alastair Clarkson and Chris Fagan back in 2015. nna\bglover
He oversaw and was a key part of Hawthorn's premiership three-peat across 2013, 2014 and 2015 alongside Clarkson.
It's rare you see an AFL coach arise and have this much success without having been a player themselves in the modern era, but Fagan has helped break down that barrier. He's also proven age is just a number.
Fast forward to 2023, Brisbane made its first grand final under Fagan, but fell agonisingly short against Collingwood.
And they have won every premiership since.
In each of 2024, 2025 and 2026 they either lost the qualifying final or finished outside the top four, won prelims on the road and then lifted the cup.
Doing that once is remarkable, but doing it in consecutive years is beyond words.
In 2024, they blew Sydney out of the water in the grand final, 2025 saw them pull away from Geelong with a brilliant second half and then on Saturday, four minutes of brilliance saw them derail Fremantle's parade.
If Fagan walks away, he does so as arguably the most influential coach of the 2020s. Not just for the premierships, but for helping lift the Lions off their knees.
On top of that, he is walking away from a team on top of the world with potentially more premierships to come.
The Lions are losing Lachie Neale, but have exceptional midfield depth and young stars like Levi Ashcroft and Dan Annable ready to fill the void.
Their 2026 list was the best of their three premierships, but they aren't dropping away or getting worse any time soon.
If Fagan departs, it might be the single most coveted coaching job opening since Mark Thompson left Geelong in 2010. Chris Scott took the reins and immediately won a premiership in 2011.
