Fagan responds to retirement speculation

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Chris Fagan was forthright when asked about his future as Brisbane Lions coach.

There has been speculation swirling that the two-time premiership coach could retire if the Lions complete the three-peat by beating Fremantle on Saturday.

Ahead of the 2026 Grand Final, Fagan was asked about his future at the pre-match press conference.

“I’m only worried about the game tomorrow,” Fagan said.

“Every year for the last two or three years I’ve had a chat with our CEO and president about when’s the right time for me to finish up.

“This is my 10th year, I’ve been going for a while. So I’ll get through this game and probably have the usual chats that I’ve had every other year post this game and see what happens.”

There has been some noise surrounding a possible Fagan retirement over the past few days in particular, but he is not reading into the chatter too much.

“It’s fair enough to speculate about it but I honestly don’t know right at this point in time whether I’ll keep going or not,” he added.

“But I was like that last year and the year before. So I’ve just got to work out the right time to go.

“There will be a few more discussions about that. But it’s not the big issue. We’ve got to play a game tomorrow.”

Kane Cornes would be shocked if Fagan walked away from the Lions after this year’s Grand Final.

Cornes says Fagan’s record belongs up there with some of the very best coaches we’ve seen, and admits he would be surprised if he were to bow out.

“Win or lose he’s a legend and he’s in rare air,” Cornes said on Fireball.

“The guy just wins. He’s been involved in plenty of premierships from his time as an assistant coach at Hawthorn.

“Chris Fagan has got that winning feeling. In terms of a third premiership, the Grand Finals, the prelim finals, the success, rebuilding a club from the absolute bottom up - he’s right up there.

“We’re talking up there with the best ever.”

David King asked: “It couldn’t be true that he could walk away after this, surely?”

Cornes replied: “I keep hearing that. I’ve got no idea.”

King: “If you won it you’d have to go for the ultimate.”

Cornes: “I think you’d have to go for four because this group is not going anywhere. They’ll only get better.

“I’d be surprised if he walked away.”

King: “If he lost it I could understand. I could understand being a senior AFL coach taking its toll.

“He could do anything he wants in footy after this.”

Andrew Slevison