Hawthorn great Leigh Matthews believes there’s a chance Alastair Clarkson will coach another team in 2022, saying that his “moral obligation” to the club was broken as a result of their recently-announced coaching succession plan.
The Hawks confirmed on Tuesday that Sam Mitchell will take over as senior coach for the 2023 season and beyond, with Clarkson to stay on next year to aid the transition.
Matthews said Clarkson was never going to break his loyalty to the club he’s coached since 2005, but now “anything is possible” after the board opted not to renew his contract beyond 2022.
“(Alastair Clarkson) is a man of great integrity,” he said on Sportsday.
“I think what he’s been saying…when you’ve been at a club for a long as he has, it’s your club and it’s the centre of your existence and you’re not going to do the wrong thing by it.
“What has happened now with this decision, is Clarko’s moral obligation to Hawthorn is now broken because Hawthorn has broken it.
“Clarko was never going to break it, but this succession plan breaks that moral obligation. Who knows what is going to happen in the next six or 18 months, it may well go as planned until the end of 2022 but I think anything is possible now."
Matthews says the future of the four-time premiership coach at the Hawks is now less certain, believing there is a 50-50 chance Clarkson opts to look elsewhere and coach another club in 2022.
“There’s a chance (he may not be at the club next year),” he said.
“Nothing is certain now, I’d say his odds at being Hawthorn at the end of 2022 is 50-50. I think this is a very long succession plan, this is going to be 18 months.
“It may come to fruition, I think Clarko feels he has an enormous moral obligation to Hawthorn, but this decision by the Hawthorn board means his future and what he wants to do with his life is not really restricted by the contract.”