Triple-premiership coach Chris Fagan joins Carlton as director of coaching
Carlton has signed triple-premiership coach Chris Fagan as its director of coaching, a job the club created for him. The Blues announced the appointment on 31 October, and Fagan will hold the role for the 2027 season.
Fagan, 65, leaves Brisbane after coaching the club to three consecutive grand final wins, according to ABC News. He spent 10 years as a senior coach before taking this job. The AFL puts his career at seven flags, 10 grand finals and 28 AFL seasons, all in its own timeline of his career. Fox Sports reported that Carlton won a multi-club race to land him.
A director of coaching is a support job, not the top job. Carlton's own announcement, titled "Blues land Fagan as Director of Coaching", says he will act as a trusted advisor and sounding board for senior coach Josh Fraser. In plain terms, Fraser gets an experienced voice to test ideas against.
The role makes more sense when you look at how Carlton got here. The club missed the finals in 2025. It then started 2026 with one win from its first eight games, and Carlton sacked coach Michael Voss after that 1-8 start. Fraser, who had been assistant coach, took over as interim coach and later got the job permanently.
Under Fraser, Carlton won 11 games and drew one from its final 14 matches to reach the finals. The Blues beat Melbourne in a wild card game, the first final, where a loss ends the season for one side. They then lost an elimination final to Geelong, a single-game final where the loser is out.
Fagan's link to the club runs through Hawthorn. He worked there as head of coaching and development, and later as general manager of football operations. Carlton chief executive Graham Wright worked with him at Hawthorn, and the two have a long working history. Carlton's announcement frames the hire as a way to back Fraser with that experience.
For Carlton fans, the question for 2027 is simple. Can a settled coach, a new support figure and a squad that finished strongly build on a September run? Fagan's first season in the role will answer that, one game at a time.
