AFL 2021: Sam Mitchell opens up on long-term goals at Hawks, relationship with Alastair Clarkson

Sam Mitchell sat down to answer all the big questions on Hawthorn’s succession plan, his relationship with Clarko and that meeting.

Sam Mitchell is working on a long-range vision he hopes can fast-track Hawthorn towards chasing silverware again in the future.

But he says that plan “absolutely” includes another year of him as coach of Box Hill before taking over the senior coaching role from Alastair Clarkson in 2023.

While Hawthorn’s decision to enact a coaching succession plan created countless headlines and plenty of debate, the man at the centre of it says he had no intention of deviating from the end goal — helping the Hawks climb back up the ladder.

In the short-term, that means playing his part working on the growth of the club’s next wave of young players, but also as coach of Box Hill when the VFL season gets underway again.

But it also means planning for a future beyond next season.

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Alastair Clarkson and Sam Mitchell at the 2015 Grand Final. Picture: Alex Coppel

“The next five to 10 years we are trying to build a club and a list that can consistently compete for silverware,” Mitchell told News Corp.

“My focus is on that, not just on the immediate period of time (ahead in 2021 and 2022). Part of that is helping to develop our current crop of youngsters.

“Another part of my role is to continue to refine my craft around coaching Box Hill.

“I love it there.

“Then there is the long-term planning of strategy for the club, which I will be working on too.”

Mitchell said he would predominantly be looking at the club with “a long lens”, while still helping in the day-to-day operations, especially around the younger players.

“Right now, what I am doing is starting to look at the under 18s, the draft, list profiling, how successful teams have built their list, and list management strategies,” he said.

While he did not want to go into detail about the club’s long-term strategies, Mitchell said: “We are certainly going to go to the draft this year and next year.”

CLARKO CONNECTION

Mitchell has had aspirations to become an AFL coach since the early years of his award-winning playing career.

In part, Clarkson has helped facilitate those ambitions over the years.

That’s why Mitchell was “pissed off” some have suggested he asked for his former coach to move on a year earlier than planned at a meeting last week that involved him, Clarkson, Hawks general manager of football Rob McCartney and Leading Teams boss Ray McLean.

He says never once did he suggest Clarkson should leave at the end of this season. He was also adamant it was not a mediation session.

“That never happened,” Mitchell said of the claims he had sought Clarkson’s exit.

“I didn’t ask for Clarko to go; that is the most ridiculous comment I’ve ever heard.”

“I thought it was just disrespectful to both of us that people were trying to say that I was trying to push him out.”

Clarkson and Mitchell played key roles in Hawthorn’s glory years, including four flags in eight seasons.

Then, in late 2016, Clarkson suggested to Mitchell he could finish his playing career with the Eagles to experience another club environment before moving into an assistant coaching role.

That led to Mitchell’s shock trade to the Eagles, just after winning his fifth Hawthorn best and fairest award.

Mitchell played one season with West Coast in 2017, with a number of players crediting him with playing a key role as assistant coach in the club’s premiership a year later.

Then Clarkson spoke to Mitchell in mid-2018 when he decided to move back to Melbourne with his wife Lyndall, and three young children.

“He (Clarkson) said ‘I would love it if one day you could take over from me’,” Mitchell said on Wednesday.

Hawks senior coach Clarkson (right) speaks with assistant coach Mitchell. Picture: Getty Images

THE PROCESS

Mitchell says Hawthorn’s decision not to renew Clarkson’s contract was made before he entered the coaching process.

At that stage, he had been considering an approach from Collingwood who were on the search for a new coach after Nathan Buckley’s departure.

“My understanding was that Clarko wouldn’t be reappointed,” Mitchell said. “At that point, my options were … the Hawthorn job was up in the air for 2023 or they might offer it to me.”

“They offered it to me, and I said ‘Let me think about it’. I took a couple of days to think about it. Other than choosing your life partner, I think it was the most important decision of my life.

“My options were to coach Hawthorn in 2023 or to pursue the Collingwood job (for next year) … I chose 2023.

“If I had wanted to coach next year, I would’ve continued to pursue the Collingwood job.”

Mitchell has long been considered one of the highly-rated coaches-in-waiting in the AFL.

That’s not just because he spent most of his playing career under Clarkson, but also because of a connection to other senior coaches as well as his undoubted footy nous and other leadership studies he had embarked on.

Having been mentored by David Parkin for a period of his football life, Mitchell has also worked at times (in various capacities) alongside nine of the other current AFL coaches – Chris Fagan, Adam Simpson, Luke Beveridge, Damien Hardwick, Brett Ratten, Stuart Dew, Leon Cameron, Justin Longmuir and Chris Scott (in International Rules).

Mitchell rubbished reports that he wanted Clarkson out before the end of next season.

THAT MEETING

Having been in the AFL system for half his life, 38-year-old Mitchell was always prepared for the coaching succession plan to make big news.

But he was “bemused” by an inference he had tried to fast-track Clarkson’s exit, saying last Tuesday’s 90-minute meeting was far from a mediation session.

He says it was just one of several meetings designed to ensure the roles of the coach and the man who replace him are well defined ahead of next season.

“Ray McLean is a gun at getting to end points. We didn’t quite get to the end point of every task (last week), but we have got a framework from which we can work towards,” he said.

“It was Tuesday morning … and it went from about 7.30 (am) to about nine o’clock. The players all knew where we were. I finished the meeting and went out on the training track.”

Mitchell has long been considered one of the highly-rated coaches-in-waiting in the AFL.

FUTURE

Hawthorn is currently 17th and hasn’t won a final since the 2015 Grand Final, but the club is hoping the coaching succession plan can start building the foundations for a brighter future.

Mitchell won’t be drawn on long-term predictions other than the fact he says he and Clarkson — and the rest of the coaching group — will work together for the rest of this year and into next year on building a platform for success.

Asked if he expected Clarkson to be at the helm next year, he said: “Absolutely, 100 per cent.”

“We are going to find a way and continue to find a way to make sure it works next year.

“There is no me saying I can’t work with him, or him saying he can’t work with me.

“At the end of the day, Clarko and I want the same thing — we want the best thing for Hawthorn in the future.

Mitchell grilled: Did he ask Clarko to move on?

Sam Mitchell has opened up on the Hawthorn succession role, dismissing claims of a “blow up” and revealing he is happy to work underneath Alastair Clarkson next year.

Mitchell dismissed claims that he wanted the Hawks hierarchy to push out Clarkson a year early.

“It’s been quite the baptism of fire, hasn’t it,” he said.

Did Mitchell ask for Clarkson not to coach next year?

“Absolutely not. That has not happened. We’ve been working on some form of succession for such a long period of time,” Mitchell told SEN radio.

“In 2016, if you go so far back, when I left to go to West Coast, Clarko said it would be great for him — I know he has coaching aspirations — it would be great for him to get experience at a new club.

“Then he rang me half way through 2018 and said it would be great to come back, it would be ideal if you took over from me at some stage, and made no promises, but that would be a great situation for us, so let’s work towards that.”

When asked about reports that he and Clarkson struggled to work together, Mitchell said:

“I find it hard to believe anyone says we don’t get along. It is not right.

“As soon as I knew that the club was not going to reappoint Clarko, my options became attempt to go on and go for the Collingwood job or if not do that, I knew someone else was going to coach Hawthorn in 2023.

“And so they gave me the option of taking that, which I said ‘I’ve got such a strong relationship, it’s been in plan for such a long period of time and now it’s coming around.

“So to me, I’m a bit bemused by the situation — I’ve been working with Clarko for 20 years consistently, but apparently, we still don’t get along.”

Mitchell dismissed claims that a meeting at the club last week was designed for mediation.

“Everyone talks about that meeting as if it’s been a one off and the only time we have ever met.”

Mitchell said speculation he had stolen Clarkson’s job left him “pi**** off”.

“The fact people would say I’m trying to push him out is a bit disrespectful to both of us.

“If I wanted to coach next year I would have gone down the Collingwood path.

“Hawthorn could go through a process for 2023 or you can get the job.

“At the end of the day, one thing that you can’t say about myself or Alastair Clarkson is that we don’t have 100% loyalty for the Hawthorn Football Club.”

KENNETT LETTER: EXPLOSIVE CLAIM TO CLARKO-MITCHELL ‘RIFT’

Sam McInerney

Hawks president Jeff Kennett has dismissed claims the club had to call a crisis meeting to solve differences between Alastair Clarkson and Sam Mitchell as they prepare to enter a one-year coaching succession plan.

Kennett sent a letter to Hawthorn members on Tuesday night to say the four-time premiership coach and the four-time premiership player had “behaved admirably” since the club announced the handover.

Under plans announced earlier this month, Clarkson will coach out the last year of his contract in 2022 and Mitchell will take over the team in 2023.

Kennett also dismissed a suggestion “that I would be happy to pay out Alastair’s contract and have Sam coach next year”.

“This is a complete fabrication,” Kennett said.

Jeff Kennett says the playing group was aware of a meeting between Alastair Clarkson and Sam Mitchell and it had nothing to do with a perceived fallout.

“I have always said I want Alastair to complete his contract, not only because at Hawthorn we honour contracts but also because Alastair has said several times publicly, he intends to honour his contract.”

Kennett said Hawthorn planned a meeting last week between Clarkson, Mitchell, head of football Rob McCartney and Leading Teams founder Ray McLean.

He rubbished claims of a Clarkson-Mitchell “blow up” that required “mediation”.

He said the playing group was aware of the meeting.

“These meetings are designed to work out the individual and shared responsibilities between Alastair and Sam as we prepare for the transition at the end of next year’s season,” Kennett said.

“These meetings are common sense. We would be derelict in our duty if these meetings did not take place.”

Kennett told members he had written a letter to them on Tuesday to “inform you of the truth”.

“Some commentators have questioned our succession plan,” he said.

“Many commercial organisations insist their CEOs identify and train people within their organisation to potentially succeed the CEO. It is good practice across the world.

“Sam Mitchell came back to the club because Clarko saw in Sam a potential senior coach.

“We have seen enough of Sam to believe he should be eventually our next senior coach.

“Coaching is not easy. It can be a very lonely job. You need to be able to work with many different characters and presidents. Those skills need refining.”

Rift rubbished: Crawf jumps on Clarko-Mitchell grenade

Former Hawthorn champion Shane Crawford has rubbished suggestions of a rift between Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson and his appointed successor Sam Mitchell, accusing veteran journalist Caroline Wilson of throwing “hand grenades to try to destabilise a football club”.

In a segment on Channel 9’s Footy Classified on Monday night, Wilson reported that a mediation session at Hawthorn left club figures with the impression that “Sam Mitchell wanted to be the coach next year and he would prefer to be there without Alastair Clarkson”.

But speaking on the TAB Inside 50 Podcast with Crawf and Quinny on Tuesday, Crawford insisted Clarkson and Mitchell had a “very respectful” working relationship, and called Wilson’s report into question.

Alastair Clarkson and Sam Mitchell have had “very respectful” working relationship, going all the way back to the latter’s playing days.

“I find it very hard to take that on-board, because I just don’t think it’s a reliable source, as we say in the media. She’s known for throwing huge hand grenades. Sometimes she’ll take a stab at it and I just think she’s off the mark,” Crawford said.

“Sam Mitchell and Alastair Clarkson challenge each other all the time, and that’s the great thing about their relationship.

“You don’t want to go to a football club and be the coach and have people underneath you who are just yes-men. Sam Mitchell is not that. He’ll challenge and push and say, ‘why don’t we do things a bit differently?’

“Even with their recruiting, they brought in players mid-season through the recommendations of Sam Mitchell and Andy Collins, who are working with Box Hill very closely. I just think it’s a sign of a club that’s actually together, even though everyone’s trying to rip the fabric of it.”

“Unfortunately, media outlets are prepared to throw hand grenades and try to destabilise a football club when it’s very stable … I just do not believe it. I only believe what I see and what I hear from people within the four walls of the football club. They’re the people I listen to and respect.”

While Crawford stopped short of guaranteeing that Clarkson would remain at Hawthorn in 2022, he expressed confidence that his former coach would find a way to make the handover to Sam Mitchell a success.

“Alastair Clarkson won’t want to leave the place in a bad space. He’s there to improve the football club and to help the football club have success,” Crawford said.

Hawks great Shane Crawford has rubbished suggestions of a rift between Clarkson and Mitchell.

“If anything, it’s like a bull to a red flag with Alastair Clarkson. When everyone says, ‘this can’t be done, it doesn’t work’ … Alastair Clarkson would love that challenge to prove people wrong and go, ‘nup, we can actually do it.’

“Malthouse to Buckley didn’t work, mainly because Mick still wanted that job. But if you look at Paul Roos to John Longmire, how’d that turn out? Unbelievably well. Extremely successful, premiership coach and the Swans have been amazing and a great football club. So it can work. It’s just about making sure the two people in that position have their heads around it.”

Crawford also suggested Hawthorn’s spirited performance against Melbourne in Round 18, which saw the 17th-placed Hawks emerge with a draw against the top team on the ladder, showed the club was far from fractured.

“If the players were uncertain about whether or not they like the decision in a year’s time and so forth, you wouldn’t expect them to play well,” Crawford said.

“They played very well against Melbourne, showed great fight, showed a connected side and a side that wanted to play for each other. That just wouldn’t happen (if players were unhappy), so that’s a massive tick for the side being together and working together.”