| Chris Fagan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Fagan in December 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Christian Fagan | ||
| Nicknames | Fages, Chris | ||
| Born | (1961-06-23)23 June 1961 (age 64) Queenstown,Tasmania[1] | ||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Brisbane Lions (head coach) | ||
| Coaching career3 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
| 2017– | Brisbane Lions | 216 (129–85–2) | |
3 Coaching statistics correct as of Grand Final, 2025. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
Christian Fagan (born 23 June 1961)[2] is anAustralian rules football coach and former player. He is currently the senior coach of theBrisbane Lions in theAustralian Football League (AFL), where he won the premiership in 2024 and 2025.[3] He spent his entire playing career inTasmania, playing 263 senior games withHobart,Sandy Bay, andDevonport. Before being appointed head coach of Brisbane in October 2016, Fagan had spent long periods as an assistant coach atMelbourne (1999–2007) andHawthorn (2008–2016).
Fagan was born inQueenstown, Tasmania.[1] He played 263 senior games in theTasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL) andTasmanian Football League (TFL) withHobart,Sandy Bay, andDevonport and kicked 430 goals in his career. He represented Tasmania on 11 occasions and played in two premiership teams – Hobart in 1980 and Devonport in 1988.[4]
Fagan spent two years as an assistant coach atNorth Hobart before being appointed senior coach of Sandy Bay for 1993 and 1994. He was the inaugural coach of theTassie Mariners from 1995 to 1997. He was the 181st person to be inducted into theTasmanian Football Hall of Fame in 2007.[4]
Fagan was an assistant coach at theMelbourne Football Club under senior coachNeale Daniher between 1999 and 2007, during which the club reached the2000 AFL Grand Final, where they lost toEssendon.[2]
He served two roles at theHawthorn Football Club between 2008 and 2016, where he was instrumental in the club's2008,2013,2014 and2015 premiership victories.[3] He was head of coaching and development between 2008 and mid-2013, while he was also the general manager of football alongside senior coachAlastair Clarkson between mid-2013 and the end of 2016.[5]
On 4 October 2016, Fagan was appointed as the senior coach of theBrisbane Lions, replacingJustin Leppitsch.[6] He took the Lions to the finals in his third season as coach and was subsequently honoured by theAFL Coaches Association with the2019Allan Jeans Senior Coach of the Year Award,[7] although the Lions lost both their home qualifying and semi-finals toRichmond andGreater Western Sydney. He led the Lions to the finals in the subsequent2020,2021 and2022 seasons, but did not reach the grand final in any of those seasons, falling short in two preliminary finals defeats to theGeelong Cats, and a semi-final defeat to theWestern Bulldogs in 2021.[8]
At the start of 2023, Fagan signed a contract extension to keep him at the club until the 2025 season. In the2023 season, Fagan led a successful finals campaign that saw the Brisbane Lions advance to the2023 Grand Final against Collingwood, which they lost by four points.[9][10]
In the2024 season, after staging the second-highest finals comeback againstGreater Western Sydney in the semi-final, coming back from 44 points down, Fagan coached the Brisbane Lions to the2024 Grand Final, where they defeated theSydney Swans by 60 points to win the premiership. He was the third winning VFL/AFL premiership coach to have never played in the league, as well as the oldest coach to feature in a grand final at 63.[11][12][13][14][15][16]
In September 2024, his contract was extended again, until the end of the 2026 season.[17]
Fagan led Brisbane to a second consecutive premiership in 2025 after finishing third on the ladder at the conclusion of the home and away season. Brisbane defeated Geelong by 47 points, breaking his own record for oldest coach to feature in a grand final, this season at 64.[18]
| Team | Year | Home and Away Season | Finals | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Drew | Win % | Position | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| BRI | 2017 | 5 | 17 | 0 | .227 | 18th out of 18 | — | — | — | — |
| BRI | 2018 | 5 | 17 | 0 | .227 | 15th out of 18 | — | — | — | — |
| BRI | 2019 | 16 | 6 | 0 | .727 | 2nd out of 18 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Lost toGWS inSemi Final |
| BRI | 2020 | 14 | 3 | 0 | .824 | 2nd out of 18 | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toGeelong inPreliminary Final |
| BRI | 2021 | 15 | 7 | 0 | .682 | 4th out of 18 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Lost toWestern Bulldogs inSemi Final |
| BRI | 2022 | 15 | 7 | 0 | .682 | 6th out of 18 | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost toGeelong inPreliminary Final |
| BRI | 2023 | 17 | 6 | 0 | .739 | 2nd out of 18 | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost toCollingwood inGrand Final |
| BRI | 2024 | 14 | 8 | 1 | .609 | 5th out of 18 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | DefeatedSydney inGrand Final |
| BRI | 2025 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 0.717 | 3rd out of 18 | 3 | 1 | 0.750 | DefeatedGeelong inGrand Final |
| Total | 117 | 77 | 2 | .587 | 12 | 8 | 0.597 | |||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Coach of theBrisbane Lions 2017–present | Succeeded by incumbent |
Fagan studied a Bachelor of Education at the University of Tasmania, graduating in 1988.[citation needed]
During his playing and early coaching career, Fagan worked as a teacher, first at Sheffield District High School from 1988 to 1989, and laterDominic College (Primary) from 1990 to 1994.[20]
He married his wife, Ursula, in January 1985.[21] Together, they have two daughters and four grandchildren.[22]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)