Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
The Lions have already started planning for life after Chris Fagan despite maintaining hope that the triple-premiership-winning mentor will again coach Brisbane next season.
Chants of “one more year” echoed around Brisbane’s Riverstage on Tuesday when Fagan and his AFL grand final heroes were presented to passionate Lions supporters who congregated in their thousands to celebrate a hat-trick of flags.
Fagan didn’t respond to the pleas for him to fulfil the final year of his coaching contract and guide the Lions on their quest for a fourth successive premiership.
“It’s so good to see so many of you here today,” Fagan told the fans after being given a key to the city by Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner.
“It’s just a super team of players to coach both with their great football ability and their fantastic characters.
“Who knows what next year will bring for the team whether it will be a four-peat or not, but we should very happy with what they’ve done so far.”
It’s also still unknown whether Fagan, 65, will be at the helm for an 11th straight season as speculation persists that he will step down from his role.
Lions chief executive Sam Graham said if Fagan had the “passion and energy to keep coaching”, he would again be in charge in 2027.
“That’ll all to play out over the next coming days and weeks” Graham said,
“We don’t have any deadlines on (Fagan making a decision). It’s really just when the time is right.
“We’d love him to keep coaching. He’s an amazing role model, he’s a mentor for many of our players, he’s such a great leader and representative of our football club.
“The fans love him, we love him, the people love him, (and) hopefully that’ll be the case for next year.”
However, if Fagan did leave, Graham was confident the Lions would continue to evolve.
“We’ve got a great group of staff and people around our footy department,” he said.
“Plans are already well in play for next year anyway, so that’ll play out in due course. The planning is more around the list and the draft.”
In terms of potential candidates to replace Fagan, Graham suggested the Lions would look internally, mentioning the likes of football manager Danny Daly and current assistant coaches Cam Bruce, Dale Morris and Daniel Lloyd.
“(They) are a terrific group. We’ve got great people,” he said.
“If (Fagan leaves) there will be conversations around that, but that’s premature. (Fagan) deserves the time to sit back and reflect. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Regardless of who coaches Brisbane next season and beyond, Graham said the club was better equipped to remain contenders for several years due to the host of young talent in the team, including Will and Levi Ashcroft, Jaspa Fletcher, Logan Morris and Kai Lohmann.
“We want to continue that ability to compete every year. That’s certainly the plan,” he said.
“There are really exciting times ahead for the footy club. Winning premierships gives you confidence, but we’ve got to still stay really humble and keep working hard, and we won’t take the support from our fans and members for granted.”
