Chris Fagan joins Carlton in coaching role for 2027
Chris Fagan will join Carlton as director of coaching for 2027 after stepping down as Brisbane’s senior coach following the club’s premiership win. The…
Chris Fagan will join Carlton as director of coaching for 2027, with the AFL club asking the former Brisbane senior coach to help develop its coaches and football program. The appointment follows Brisbane’s 2026 premiership win, the club’s third in a row, after which Fagan stepped down as senior coach.
Carlton announced the appointment on Saturday morning. Fagan, 65, will have a matchday role and begin mentoring the coaching panel, while also supporting first-time senior coach Josh Fraser.
Fagan said the opportunity was attractive because Carlton’s leaders shared a clear direction for the club and the role would let him focus on developing others. He described the move as “an opportunity too good to pass up.”
Why did Chris Fagan join Carlton?
Fagan said Carlton’s alignment on how to build the club, along with the chance to make a meaningful contribution, persuaded him to take the role. He said he had wanted to return closer to family after leaving Brisbane’s senior coaching position.
“While I loved my 10 years as a Senior Coach, this is a role I am passionate about and where I know I can have a real impact in this next phase of my football career,” Fagan said in a statement.
He said supporting people to perform at their best was what he valued most in football. The full-time position will let him work with people across Carlton’s football department and closely with Fraser.
Fagan also pointed to the club’s understanding that it still had significant work to do before it could contend. He said that combination of purpose and shared ambition shaped his decision.
What will Fagan do at Carlton?
Carlton said Fagan will oversee a matchday role and mentor the coaching panel. The club said his work will include establishing development pathways for coaches and helping drive what it described as an elite, sustainable football program.
The appointment adds an experienced coach to Fraser’s support team as he takes on his first senior coaching role. Carlton general manager of football Chris Davies said the club wanted to build around people who could connect with others and help them improve.
“We want to build our football club around good people and they do not come any better than Chris Fagan,” Davies said.
Davies said Fagan and Fraser had developed a connection in recent weeks around a shared philosophy of putting people first and building the program the right way. He said Fagan’s arrival would support Fraser, help develop the coaches and strengthen the program’s clarity and discipline.
The move marks a change in role for Fagan after his decade as Brisbane senior coach. He left that position following the club’s 2026 premiership, its third consecutive title, and said he wanted to be closer to family.
Fagan said Carlton’s leaders had a clear vision for the club but understood the scale of the work ahead. “They shared a clear vision of evolving Carlton into a club that can contend but most importantly, they understand there is still significant work to do to get there,” he said.
Fagan will join Carlton as director of coaching for 2027.
