Nathan Buckley quits: Jeff Kennett reveals what vacant Magpies coaching job means at Hawthorn
The search for a new coach may be on in earnest at Collingwood, but Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett says it’s business at usual at Hawthorn and its plans for its coaching department.
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Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett says he won’t be “losing any sleep” over the prospect of Collingwood poaching Alastair Clarkson.
Kennett said the premiership coach was contracted at Hawthorn until the end of 2022.
Responding to the departure of Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley, who will coach his final game for the club on Monday, Kennett said the vacant Magpies coaching job would have no bearing on the Hawks’ timeline for discussions on Clarkson’s future.
Clarkson is contracted at the Hawks until the end of 2022 and Kennett said the club would stick to its plans to sit down with the four-time premiership coach at the end of this year to discuss his future at the club.
“(Buckley’s departure) does not affect Hawthorn at all,” Kennett said.
“It’s another club, they’ve got issues they’ve got to deal with.
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“Clarko and the club (Hawthorn) have had a contract in place, which remains in place and we have always said we’ll sit down and talk about the contract and the future at the end of this season and what happens at other clubs doesn’t affect what we do at Hawthorn.
“We’ve got a contract until the end of 2022 so we sit back like the rest of you … but we are more focused on our own administration and governance and what happens at other clubs doesn’t affect us.”
While Clarkson’s name was almost immediately thrown up as a possible candidate for the vacant Magpies’ job, the Hawks also have another potential contender with assistant coach Sam Mitchell, who is coaching the club’s VFL team Box Hill this year.
Kennett said Hawthorn’s position on discussions about the future of Mitchell, who is widely considered to be Clarkson’s heir-apparent at Hawthorn, was the same as the senior coach.
“The same applies. What happens at other clubs doesn’t affect us,” Kennett said.
“It doesn’t change anything. We have got a very clear strategy in place and what happens at other clubs doesn’t affect us.”
Asked if he expected Clarkson and Mitchell to be targeted, Kennett said the Hawks were comfortable with the plans it had in place with its coaches.
“They may, but again we know what we have got in place and we know the people that we employ so we are not losing any sleep,” Kennett said.
Collingwood’s general manager of football, Graham Wright, has links to the Hawthorn pair after previously working as the Hawks previous head of football and in recruiting and list management at the club before that.
After slipping to 15th last season — the club’s lowest position since Clarkson’s first year at the club, the Hawks are on the rebuild path and will blood their sixth debutant in 2021 this week.
Clarko, Lyon respond to Pies coaching links
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has declared his commitment to the Hawks to “see this out” as his name is thrust into contention for the vacant Collingwood coaching job.
Clarkson’s comments come as another key senior figure Ross Lyon admitted he would take a phone call from the Magpies.
Lyon said he was open to a conversation but told Footy Classified on Wednesday night he would not make a “flippant” declaration that he wanted the job.
Both Lyon and Clarkson have been linked to possible senior coaching roles at Collingwood, left vacant by a departing Nathan Buckley — which has begun a review of its football department and the role of David Teague.
Responding to Buckley’s departure, Clarkson reiterated he was contracted to Hawthorn next year and he remained invested in his job at hand.
Lyon said there would be “no competition” if Clarkson was to become available for the Magpies job.
But Hawthorn’s four-time premiership coach, in his 16th season at the Hawks, said his track record suggested he would remain loyal to the Hawks.
“I am contracted at Hawthorn next year,” Clarkson said.
“This happens every year, I dare say for the last 10, and I don’t say that in an arrogant fashion. Every time there is some movement with a coach, my name is linked to it.
“I haven’t moved for 10 years and I dare say I won’t be moving this time either.
“My focus is purely on the Hawthorn footy club and I am still contracted and I want to see this out because of the players we have got here, I am invested in.”
Clarkson has been listed as the bookies favourite for the vacancy ahead of Lyon, Sam Mitchell, Justin Leppitsch and interim coach Robert Harvey.
Clarkson said the departure of a senior coach mid-season created “instability across the league” as speculation swirls around potential suitors for the job.
Hawthorn assistant coach Sam Mitchell is one of those whose name has also been thrown forward as a candidate but Clarkson said that would not expedite any discussions or plans the club had for the former premiership midfielder.
“Sam is no different to any one of our other coaches, Craig McRae, Chris Newman and Brendon Bolton and Andy Otten from that point of view and all the other guys that have come before them at our footy club,” Clarkson said.
“We are grooming all of those guys at our club to be senior coaches one day and Sam has been in that mix where we think a really important part of his development is to coach his own side and he is doing that. He is six games into that very opportunity right now.
“In Chris Newman, Brendon Bolton and Craig McRae, they have all had that opportunity to coach their own side and they are really, really well credentialed and prepared to be a senior coach of AFL footy.
“Sam is on that journey, too, but just because something happens in the outside AFL world doesn’t mean that we need to respond to what is going on outside.”
Asked if it would be a shame if Mitchell was to go to another club given his strong Hawthorn connection, Clarkson said the club’s commitment was to prepare all of its assistant coaches to be senior coaches — wherever that might be.
“Our commitment to all of our assistant coaches is that we will help groom them to be senior coaches one day,” Clarkson said.
“Now we understand – and has been the case with all of the ones that have come through our footy club – that hasn’t meant they have ended up being the coach of Hawthorn.
“Our commitment is that we will help them become a senior coach somewhere whether that be Hawthorn or somewhere else.
“Right at the moment, our commitment to Sam is to give him the opportunity to coach at Box Hill and learn all the nuances of being a senior coach of your own club which is what he’s doing at Box Hill and getting great exposure through that.”
Clarkson paid tribute to Buckley’s impact.
“It’s always disappointing when these things happen mid-season. He has been a great contributor to the game over a long period of time, Bucks,” Clarkson said.
“It just causes instability across the league when a senior coach parts ways with his club mid-season.
“He has been a great contributor to the game both as a player and coach and he is a ripper of a bloke. But in the wisdom of both he and the Collingwood Football Club they saw fit to part ways at this point in time.”
Meanwhile, Lyon says he would consider an approach from the Magpies.
“They are one of the biggest clubs in the land, (with an) incredible tradition … if someone rang me from Collingwood and said ‘Can we talk?’ of course I would sit down and have a discussion,” Lyon said on Footy Classified.
“But I can’t give you a flippant answer here.
“For me it’s such a big position. Nathan Buckley is a revered figure and we saw him handle it and he still got chewed up and spat out.
“So, it’s not a simple flippant ‘Yeah, I’m interested’ because they are big jobs and they need someone that is unconditional committed.”
But Lyon said Clarkson would be the raging favourite for the Collingwood job if he was to become available.
“If Alastair Clarkson is available, there is no competition,” Lyon said
“Just pull out whatever he needs, have the conversation and get him signed.
“There is no other conversation … if Alastair is happy to be moved on and move, nothing else counts because he is the best coach in the land.”
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Lyon said he would also not rule out taking a call from Carlton, which this week announced a mid-season review into its football department.
“The right principal is an AFL club rings you, I don’t care who you are, you take the call and you show them the respect they deserve,” he said. “That’s my position.”
Lyon coached St Kilda between 2007 and 2011 and the Dockers from 2012 to 2019 before making a move into the media.
Asked if he still had the hunger and passion to coach again, Lyon said it was a decision that would need “serious consideration”.
“There are lots of variables,” Lyon said.
“They are a big powerful club, but the spotlight is squarely on you.
“There is nowhere to hide in this town, you need to be eyes wide open and ready and prepared.”
Bucks lauds ‘perfect’ Pies caretaker coach
Caretaker coach Robert Harvey has received a glowing endorsement from the man he’s replacing for the rest of the season.
One of Nathan Buckley’s final acts in his farewell press conference was to talk up Harvey who has been his right-hand man for the past decade.
The St Kilda great has been in the running for a number of senior positions in recent times but came up short. He made it to the final three for the North Melbourne job last year which went to David Noble.
“Personally I have worked with Rob since 2012 and I just can’t speak highly enough of his credentials as a bloke and as a coach,” Buckley said.
“It is probably an example of the perception externally or the way that people are perceived … I don’t think he is really viewed in the right light in terms of his coaching capacity.
“It is elite, he is a very good coach, very good strategically and builds enormously strong relationships across the width and breadth of the football program.
“He is the perfect bloke to step up. I don’t believe the club will miss a beat with him stepping into the role and he has the capacity to pull the program together in the short and medium terms.
“The club will go through its process but he will do great things in the second half of the year and we won’t miss a beat.”
Collingwood football boss Graham Wright said he had only talked about the caretaker role with Harvey at this point but was open to him putting his hand up for the permanent gig.
“From my perspective, if he wants to apply for the job absolutely,” Wright said. “At this stage we have talked about being the caretaker from next Tuesday, helping us through the back end of the year and we will have some goals that we want to achieve out of that.
“We will sit down and work through those over next week or so.”
Recent history is on Harvey’s side given David Teague was considered an outsider for the Carlton job in 2019 until he produced an excellent finish to the season with six wins from 11 games and ended up securing the senior position.
Harvey, 49, has extensive experience having also worked as an assistant coach at Carlton and St Kilda, where he won two Brownlow Medals over a brilliant 383-game career.
He will be battling it out with some high-powered candidates for the Collingwood job including Ross Lyon, who he worked under for a year at St Kilda.
Early betting markets have Lyon and Harvey near the top alongside Hawthorn great Sam Mitchell, who is currently coaching VFL side Box Hill, and Brisbane Lions champion Michael Voss who is an assistant coach at Port Adelaide.
Former North Melbourne coach Brad Scott, who is currently working at the AFL, could be an intriguing candidate while there are suggestions the Pies should inquire about his twin brother’s status at Geelong even though Chris is contracted until the end of 2022.
McGuire: Why ‘icon’ Bucks was right to quit
Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire says he is saddened Nathan Buckley departs as Magpies coach without a premiership in black and white.
But McGuire praised the Magpies great’s decision to step down as doing the “right thing” by the club.
Describing the announcement on Wednesday as an emotional day, McGuire said he hoped Buckley would get the accolades he deserved after his long career at Collingwood as a player and coach.
Buckley will finish as Collingwood coach after Monday’s Queen’s Birthday clash against Melbourne at the SCG after almost 10 years as senior coach and a 260-game playing career with the Magpies before that.
He departs without a premiership as a player or senior coach, which McGuire said would forever sadden him.
“Of course it does, it always did,” McGuire said on AFL 360. “In 2002 when he lifted the club, did everything, won the Norm Smith Medal and did everything he possibly could against the odds.
“Bucks was at his best … he is just an icon of the game.
“He has never crossed the line doing anything other than the best he possibly can for Collingwood and that’s all you can ever ask of anybody.”
Buckley’s departure comes just months after McGuire stood down as Collingwood president as Magpies president following more than two decades in the role and a testing 3-9 start to the season for the club.
McGuire said he had not given any thought to extending Buckley’s contract had he remained president, saying he and Buckley would have sat down to “work it out”.
“There was a year there and as far as I was concerned it was never a case of Bucks leaving or Bucks getting the sack with me,” McGuire said.
“It was whether or not we decided the time was up and at some stage we would have worked it out together.”
Asked whether former St Kilda and Fremantle coach Ross Lyon would have the “natural qualities” to be the next Collingwood coach, McGuire said there would be plenty of strong candidates for the club to look at.
“There is a big field of people that will be very good for Collingwood and also Collingwood will be very good for them,” McGuire said.
McGuire and Lyon appear together every Wednesday night on Footy Classified.
The long-time president said Buckley had acted in the best interests of Collingwood.
“In the end, I think what Nathan Buckley said – and with (chief executive) Mark Anderson and (football boss) Graham Wright – it was a coming together of circumstances and ultimately everybody did the right thing by the club,” McGuire said.
“That’s what I was most proud of today and I’m just so delighted that Nathan will get the accolades that he deserves as somebody who has always done the right thing, not only by Collingwood but by the game in general.
“His finish is just the same as he has always been, he has done the right thing.
“Ultimately he tells me in his heart it was the right thing to do and it probably will be, as we all take a deep breath, the best thing for him and his family as well and a next chapter will open up in the extraordinary career and life of Nathan Buckley and I have no doubt that he has greater glories to attain.”
Did Bucks Leave too soon? Pies legend weighs in
Collingwood legend Tony Shaw says he is not sure whether Nathan Buckley’s time was up as coach and believes any club “would be stupid” to not consider him.
The 1990 premiership skipper has a long history with Buckley, taking him under his wing as captain when he arrived at Collingwood at the end of 1993.
He then coached Buckley and appointed him captain in 1999.
When asked on Wednesday if he believed Buckley’s time was up after almost a decade in charge, Shaw said: “They’ve made it in unison it sounds like with the way it came over in the press conference, so they’ve both decided it was time,” he said.
“Now he’ll just go onto the next challenge, and we know he’ll jump into anything that comes up and he’ll pick and choose now.
“He’s been a great servant of the club but these things come to an end.
“Whether it’s the right timing, I’m not sure, but it’s happened.”
Shaw backed Buckley to be a success in whatever he did next.
“You’re always sad when a great person finds himself in this position and it doesn’t have to be a Collingwood person,” he said.
“Anyone who’s been in footy long enough knows that you’re going to be moved on at some time.
“He’d be pretty emotional about it but he has a job to do until the end of Monday, and knowing Bucks he’d just put his head down and that’s the way he works,” he said.
“He’ll get that done and then a new part of his life starts and whatever track he goes down he’ll have my support.
“He mentioned his kids and he’ll find something.
“And anyone who doesn’t look at him would be stupid.”
Magpies great forever indebted to Bucks
Former Magpie great Peter McKenna said Buckley was an exemplary person who he was forever indebted to.
“I don’t want to comment on whether it’s the right call, but all I’ll say is I’m a bit biased because he did me a great favour in my life once when a mate of mine was dying,” McKenna said.
“The family wanted him (Buckley) to come around and Nathan did the very next day, spending an hour with my best mate in life who loved Nathan and he died three days later, so I’ve never forgotten that.
“When you think about it, he was a kick away from winning a flag in 2018 a few years ago.
“He is a very good person so I’d never say it was the right call because I’m too biased.”
Former Magpie premiership great Mick McGuane, who played with Buckley for three seasons, paid tribute to his former teammate’s contribution to the club.
“Nathan Buckley is professional, considered and logical,” McGuane tweeted.
“Bucks has been a very committed and passionate Collingwood player and coach for nearly three decades.
“Full kudos for putting the club first and foremost in very trying circumstances.
“One of our very best people departs.”
Shock name backed to succeed Bucks
Former Hawthorn captain and Brownlow Medallist Shane Crawford has put forward a glowing endorsement of ex-teammate and senior coach-in-waiting Sam Mitchell, declaring “he’s going to be a career coach” who Collingwood “would be crazy not to speak to”.
Speaking on the TAB Inside 50 Podcast with Crawf and Quinny, Crawford said Mitchell could prove the perfect candidate to take over from coach Nathan Buckley, who announced he was stepping down as coach on Wednesday morning.
“I know I push (Mitchell) a lot, but I push him for a reason, because he’s bloody good and I think he’s going to be a career coach,” Crawford said.
“I think he’s set himself up really well … He went over and coached with West Coast, he’s come back to Hawthorn. He’s also now taken on Box Hill.
“I just think they’d be crazy not sitting down and interviewing someone like Sam Mitchell.”
With Magpies assistant coach Robert Harvey set to take over as Collingwood caretaker coach following the Queen’s Birthday clash with Melbourne on Monday, Crawford encouraged the Pies to cast a wide net when searching for Buckley’s replacement.
“It’s a great opportunity right now for Collingwood to go and interview everyone – everyone under the sun,” Crawford said.
“They should be interviewing 500 people for this job, narrow it down to 10, and then trying to figure out who’s the best fit to go forward. And not just the best fit as a person – the best fit for the game-style, and someone who’s prepared to be a bit different, to think a bit different, to play a bit different.”
How the players took the news
Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury says he is feeling “numb” after Magpies legend Nathan Buckley stood down as coach on Wednesday.
It is the first time in Pendlebury’s illustrious 328-game career that he has seen a senior coach depart mid-season and he admitted it had hit him hard.
“It’s a bit of a shock,” Pendlebury told Fox Sports News outside the Holden Centre.
“You come in to train today and then it happens, so it’s definitely a shock.
“It’s the first time in my career that I’ve ever been through something like this before, so I feel almost a little bit numb.”
Pendlebury said word of Buckley’s departure filtered out before the coach could address the leaders or the playing group.
“We planned to have a chat with the leaders and then the timeline sped up, so it became the full group,” the Magpies captain said.
“Then it came out and he just spoke about how he thought it was the best thing for the club.
“That no person was bigger than the club and he thought it was the right time for him to step away.
“He just spoke about his gratitude for the place; he spent half his life here.
“And just how excited he is for the future and excited for the opportunity he’s had as a player, as assistant coach, as coach and everything he’s contributed to our club.”
"I feel almost a little bit numb"
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) June 9, 2021
Pendlebury's take on Buckley's departure ðŸ—£ï¸ pic.twitter.com/IXNQBL4ngv
The long-time Collingwood midfielder said there would be a grieving period for Buckley among the players.
“I think everyone will handle it differently,” he said.
“We come in tomorrow and I guess over the next 24 to 48 hours everyone will be checking in with each other and just seeing how everyone sits with it.”
Pendlebury endorsed Collingwood assistant Robert Harvey as caretaker coach for the remainder of the season, which will follow Buckley’s last game in charge on the Queen’s Birthday.
“Obviously Harves has been Bucks’ right-hand man so I don’t think that comes as a surprise,” he said.
Meanwhile Dane Swan has lauded former teammate and coach Nathan Buckley as the biggest name in the history of Collingwood.
The Brownlow medallist said the outgoing coach deserved a flag “more than anyone” at the Magpies.
While Swan conceded he didn’t always see eye-to-eye with Buckley, who he played with for six seasons and played under for a further six years while Buckley was at the helm, he commended the Collingwood great for always having the club’s best interests at heart.
“Biggest name in the history of the club and the one thing he always did was put the best interests of The club first (whether we agreed or not),” Swan tweeted.
“Deserved a flag more than anyone at the pies and should be celebrated on the way out. “Hopefully life can be a tad normal for him again.”
Another former Magpie, Dale Thomas, was far from complimentary.
In a now deleted tweet, Thomas said: “@collingwoodfc requesting all members and fans to put your Fig Jam out on your porch tonight as a sign of respect and thanks to bucks”.
The tweet was swiftly criticised by Collingwood supporters before being deleted.
Meanwhile, Buckley’s cosmetic nurse girlfriend Alex Pike showed support for her man, commenting “Powerhouse” on one of Collingwood’s tributes on Instagram.
The post, a picture of Buckley beside his quote, was captioned “we’ve been blessed to have you, Bucks”.
Pike, a mother of three, splits her time working between Melbourne and Albury.
She posted yesterday that she’s back in Melbourne.
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Biggest name in the history of the club and the one thing he always did was put the best interests of The club first (whether we agreed or not). Deserved a flag more than anyone at the pies and should be celebrated on the way out. Hopefully life can be a tad normal for him again
— Dane Swan (@swandane) June 9, 2021
"I feel almost a little bit numb"
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) June 9, 2021
Pendlebury's take on Buckley's departure ðŸ—£ï¸ pic.twitter.com/IXNQBL4ngv
Buckley to coach the Blues 😉 #2022 flag #2024 💪ðŸ‘
— Brendan Fevola (@BrendanFevola25) June 9, 2021
Congratulations to Bucks. His contribution to @CollingwoodFC as both a player and coach is second to none. The way he has represented himself and club over the journey at times in trying circumstances is to be admired. All class.
— Josh Fraser (@jfraser17) June 9, 2021
Alastair Clarkson talks about the “key pillars†at clubs — president, CEO, coach, captain, football boss etc. Four key pillars at Collingwood have now changed: Geoff Walsh, Eddie McGuire, Ned Guy and Nathan Buckley. The club’s leadership will almost be unrecognisable next week.
— Sam Landsberger 🗯 (@SamLandsberger) June 9, 2021
No matter what you think about Collingwood or Nathan Buckley, the fact this announcement is happening over Zoom is a bit of a downer. Nothing they can do obviously but a sad way to finish up. https://t.co/9GpR0dnoJW
— Lauren Wood (@LaurenHeraldSun) June 9, 2021
Thanks Bucks 🖤
— Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) June 9, 2021
After almost 10 seasons and 217 matches in charge, Nathan Buckley will coach the team for the last time next Monday when Collingwood meets Melbourne at the SCG.
Collingwood needed a fresh start. But as Bucks showed with his class in that press conference and from his coaching in 2018-20 he will be massively in demand at some stage as a coach again. The Buckley brand is undiminished https://t.co/6liTwTN3X8
— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) June 9, 2021
Gerard on reports Nathan Buckley will resign: "I feel quite emotional.
— Whateley (@WhateleySEN) June 9, 2021
"For what he's achieved within the game, what he did on the field, what he's done coaching for a decade, the fact that pretty well everyone gave up on him and couldn't see what he would become as a coach..."
Nathan Buckley gave a lot to Collingwood. Here’s an early picture of him playing for them. pic.twitter.com/z6u7mKxXsi
— Titus O'Reily (@TitusOReily) June 9, 2021
Originally published as Nathan Buckley quits: Jeff Kennett reveals what vacant Magpies coaching job means at Hawthorn
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