Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson won’t coach out his contract

Alastair Clarkson was steadfast he would see out his contract at Hawthorn before handing over to Sam Mitchell, but all that has changed.

Alastair Clarkson won’t coach Hawthorn in 2022. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

Alastair Clarkson has confirmed he will step down as Hawthorn’s senior coach at the end of the season.

Despite speculation he could be in the frame for the top job at Collingwood or Carlton, Clarkson said he was currently “not in the headspace” to seek out a coaching position elsewhere for next season.

Instead, the four-time premiership winning coach told reporters on Friday afternoon that he would “take a breath” and reassess his situation in 2023.

“I’m just going to take a breather. Right at the present time, my commitment is to have a spell and see where 2023 will take me,” Clarkson said.

“It’s my turn to ride off in to the sunset. I’m really excited about what the next chapter might be. I’ve got no idea what it will be. I am genuine in this.

“I don’t know if it will be in coaching or out of coaching, I don’t know if it’s in the AFL or out of the AFL, I don’t know if it’s in Australia or out of Australia. I am really excited about exploring that with my family and seeing where it takes me.

Asked if he would be allowed to coach elsewhere in 2022 given he was contracted to Hawthorn and will receive a payout, Clarkson said “I think I am”.

“I don’t think I will. I want to see what the future holds. That might not even be in football. I have been going at this game for 45 of my 53 years. I’ve been doing it for a very long time and now we have this opportunity for the next 12 months to work out what the next chapter is.

“I’ve got 12 months to take a breathe and work out what the second half of my life is going to look like.”

News that Clarkson would depart the club broke on Friday morning.

A scheduled weekly press conference for the four-time premiership coach was abandoned on Friday morning amid reports surfacing he had made the decision not to honour his part in the club’s succession plan.

Only last Friday, Clarkson, who was set to hand over the reins to former club captain Sam Mitchell at the end of 2022, declared he would be coach next season as per the arrangement.

In a 13-minute monologue at his weekly media conference, he said he would “see through my commitment”.

“I’ve always been that way,” Clarkson said.

“I’m going to continue on and do this role until the end of next year … we understood there was going to be speculation, ‘Will Clarkson move and what does it mean?’ I laugh at in one way because if they’re saying that then they don’t really know me well, that’s what I’m trying to portray today.

“Once you make a commitment to someone then you follow through to the end and my commitment to Sam Mitchell is through to the end of next year. That commitment is to Sam, that commitment is to Lyndall his wife and his three children.

“That commitment was made several years ago when I walked into the doors of the Hawthorn footy club, and Sam has paid me back in spades, and it’s my turn now to try to help him be a senior coach.”

The Hawks sit in second-last place after 19 rounds of the 2021 season. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

However, on Friday afternoon, Clarkson fronted the media to backflip on that decision, confirming he would instead leave his post following the 2021 season to clear the way for incoming coach Sam Mitchell.

“I’m going to step aside from coaching the Hawthorn Footy Club at the end of this year,” Clarkson told reporters

“We’ve had ongoing discussions for the best part of three or four weeks with Mitch (Sam Mitchell), with our players, with our board, with our footy subcommittee, with our own families.

“We’ve come to the realisation that this footy club needed some fresh air from 2022 onwards.

“Our club hasn’t performed anywhere near to the level that we would’ve liked for a whole heap of reasons and I’m a key contributor to that of course.

“It’s my view that the footy club needs to free itself from my shadow, in a sense.

“I’m of the firm belief that only one coach can steer the direction, in reality, of a club and its playing group.”

.@CollingwoodFC: ‘So Clarko, wyd?’

— Nick Smart (@NickSmart85) July 30, 2021

Is that the right way Clarko leaves the Hawks? Very poorly handled. A legend shouldn’t go like that. What a terrific person and coach. #oneofthegreatest

— dustinfletcher31 (@dustinfletch31) July 30, 2021

Three weeks ago Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett revealed his board had struck a deal to have Mitchell replace Clarkson after the completion of the 2022 season.

But on Thursday night the board reportedly on the back of feedback from some senior players conceded the arrangement could not work.

The decision to quit brings to an end Clarkson’s 17-year tenure in charge of the Hawks, a time during which Clarkson has elevated himself into the conversation as one of the best AFL coaches ever.

Clarkson, 53, took the Hawks to four premierships, including a three-peat from 2013 to 2015.

Alastair Clarkson coached Hawthorn to four premierships, including 2015. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Collingwood, which is searching for a new senior coach, had approached Clarkson only to be told he was unavailable because of his contract at Hawthorn.

Carlton is also conducting a review into its entire football department, and there is speculation coach David Teague could also be moved on.

With Clarkson having withdrawn from the race for the Magpies job, Collingwood will now need to look elsewhere to find a coach for 2022, as will Carlton, should the troubled club’s mid-season review recommend a change in senior coach.

Originally published as Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson won’t coach out his contract