Written by Marcus Guarnera
Chris Fagan decided to leave the Brisbane Lions at the end of the 2026 season after winning his third premiership in a row. He cited a desire to move back to Melbourne to be with his family.
However, Fagan did not want to stop working in football completely. This led to Fagan being linked to a majority of Melbourne clubs who would have loved to have the services of one of the most decorated coaches in the modern era.
Despite all of the competition around Melbourne, Carlton managed to land Fagan as the new director of coaching with the news being made official today. This is the same role that Fagan had at Hawthorn between 2008-2016.
During this time he helped Alastair Clarkson coach Hawthorn to their three-peat from 2013 to 2015. Fagan will come into help a young coaching staff at Carlton with Josh Fraser is set to have his first full season as Carlton coach next season.
Having Fagan in his game-day staff will help Fraser smooth the transition from being an interim coach to a head coach over the course of 2027.
