Triple premiership coach Chris Fagan joins Carlton as director of football

In short:

Carlton has announced Chris Fagan as its new director of coaching, in support of coach Josh Fraser.

Fagan, fresh from winning a third-straight flag as coach with the Brisbane Lions, called the role "an opportunity too good to pass up".

Fagan said that while he had enjoyed his 10 years as a senior coach, his passion was supporting people to get the best out of themselves.

Chris Fagan has made the next step in his football career, with the triple premiership coach joining Carlton as director of coaching.

The newly created role will see Fagan, who announced his departure from Brisbane after the team's third consecutive grand final win, join the Blues to provide support to coach Josh Fraser.

The move reunites Fagan with Blues chief executive Graham Wright. The pair worked together at Hawthorn when Fagan was head of coaching and development and then general manager of football operations as the Hawks won three flags in a row between 2013 and 2015.

In a club statement Fagan said the chance to join the Blues was "an opportunity too good to pass up". 

"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.

"Supporting people to get the absolute best out of themselves is what I love most about football, so the chance to now be able to do that on a full-time basis is incredibly exciting.

"I can't wait to connect with each person in the football department, and in particular work closely with Josh to help every coach and player be the best Carlton person they can possibly be."

After four finals in 2023 and 2024 combined, Carlton missed finals in 2025 before coach Michael Voss was sacked after a 1-8 start to 2026.

Interim coach (now permanent) Fraser then led the Blues to 11 wins and a draw from the final 14 games to get Carlton to the finals. The Blues beat Melbourne in a wild card game before an elimination final loss to Geelong.