Ross Lyon sacked as coach of Fremantle
Fremantle has rocked the AFL with the fourth coach sacking of the season, the club parting ways with Ross Lyon after losing patience with a lack of results.
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Fremantle has parted company with coach Ross Lyon in a sensational sacking that will also see chief executive Steve Rosich moving on from the club
The Dockers have moved on Lyon effective immediately, believing they could not endure a full season in 2020 with their coach out of contract.
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Former Hawthorn and North Melbourne big man David Hale will coach the Dockers on Sunday against Port Adelaide.
Hale has been the club’s forwards coach this season.
Club president Dale Alcock said the “bold” double axing was right for the club’s future.
“Our sympathies go to Ross and Steve and their families … but we need to do what is best and act in the best interest of our supporters, members and corporators,” Alcock said.
“If we don’t strive to be an elite club we’re not doing what’s best for our supporters and stakeholders.”
He said the Dockers “feared we would be treading water” next season if they did not act now.
“It is a bold move to remove and replace the coach and CEO … but we believe it’s the right one,” he said.
Alcock said there had been no player input into the decision.
The club’s rebuild had been seen to be on track but, while Lyon had improved the club’s list, there was a mood for change at Fremantle.
Earlier, Alcock said in a statement: “As a result, the Fremantle Football Club board has decided that the club requires a new coach and new CEO for the 2020 season and beyond.
“Leadership change is necessary to begin the process of renewal and to set our course for the next 10 years.
“Fremantle had not made the finals for the past four years. This isn’t acceptable to the board, the players, and most importantly to our supporters. We need high performance and consistency at all levels of the club, so we need to change and evolve.
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“Ross has been with the club for eight years. In his first four seasons we played finals, the highlight being the 2013 AFL Grand Final. He instilled great professionalism, drive and commitment into our club.”
Lyon said he did not agree with the call but would respect it, adding he had never asked the club for an extension.
“There’s always that pang. I was strong enough and tough enough to go through next year, and squarely focused,” Lyon said.
“We beat Geelong with eight of our best 16 (players) out. That’s probably why I don’t agree with the decision (to axe me), but I certainly respect the decision.
“There was no way the club would extend me, I wouldn’t have thought, beyond 2020. The noise around that was a lot for them, and they wanted some clean air. “I don’t agree with it, but I certainly respect it, and I wish them all the best.
“The Dockers will always hold a special place in my heart. I just want to make that clear — the Dockers have been unbelievable.”
Lyon has spent the past 13 years as a senior coach, with seven of those at Fremantle.
At the end of a wide-ranging press conference, he declared: “Thank you and goodbye for now”.
Chief Operating Officer Graeme Parker will replace Rosich and act as interim CEO until a permanent club chief is identified.
“I am extremely proud of my time at the club, with what we have achieved over the 2008 to 2019 period and with the strong foundations that the club has in place to be a leading club in the AFL,” Rosich said.
With a potential player exodus including Ed Langdon, Brad Hill and Sean Darcy, the Fremantle board and football boss Peter Bell have taken the ballistic option.
Lyon is the fourth coaching departure this season, following Brad Scott (North Melbourne), Brendon Bolton (Carlton) and Alan Richardson (St Kilda).
The Dockers crashed out of finals contention with their loss to Essendon on Saturday night.
There has been continued speculation about the future of John Worsfold, who has been linked to a return home to Perth given his family have returned to the state.
If he was sacked by Essendon or decided to move closer to his family he would be perfectly poised to coach West Coast’s cross-town rivals after leading the Eagles to a premiership.
The Dockers are expected to meet with its staff and players in coming hours to inform them of the decision, which will see Lyon depart immediately.
He will have to be paid out as much as $1 million if he cannot find another senior coaching role, with St Kilda the only current club without a senior coach.
Essendon also has a coach under fire in Worsfold, but if he wins a final the Dons will surely continue with him in 2020.
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Collingwood assistant coach Justin Longmuir has long been linked to a role at Fremantle, with former North Melbourne coach Brad Scott likely to be a contender for the role.
Lyon has improved his relationships with players but player managers have long complained about a series of issues at the club.
They include the sports science and conditioning of players, the support structures around players and the elite coaching structures.
Hill is certain to leave the club, with his determination to tell the club in the last few weeks delayed only by media reports about his future.
Langdon is one of the club’s most promising midfielders but he too will leave for a Melbourne club, with continuing speculation ruckman Sean Darcy might also depart.
He made clear his displeasure at certain aspects of the club last year when Lachie Neale departed.
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Lyon was contracted to coach the Dockers until the end of next season.
He said only last week he believed he was coaching as well as he ever had as a coaching package.
Lyon has continually said he was happy to coach next year at Fremantle but had clearly been pushing hard for a contract past 2020.
“I don’t think it is unusual,” Lyon previously said of his contract.
“The term was to the end of 2020. That’s what both parties committed to.
“There were no options or clauses put in that there’s a rider that you need to be re-signed.
“You’re making a number of assumptions — a) that I want to continue to AFL coach, b) that I want to coach here and c) that I need to coach.
“They’re all assumptions people are making. I’m committed to my job.”
Speaking on SEN radio last week, Lyon said he wasn’t worried by the fact his contract had not been extended.
“I feel like, in a real sense, I’ve never coached better. Like, the whole package with my systems, with my club, delegating, calmness, the whole bit,” he said.
“I personally think I’ve never been a better package and that’s why I’m enjoying it and I don’t tend to get wobbled so I’m fully committed.”
“I’ll probably be back page today with a noose around my neck but you get used to that.
“That’s what you sign up for. I spoke to the players the other week and with everything you go through, the rise is worth the fall.
“It doesn’t phase me one iota. Not one iota. If anything it focuses me. There’s clearly some people who think it wobbles me, but it certainly doesn’t.
“With everything I’ve been through since 2007, if they put the contract in front of me, I’d sign up again because it takes you to places you never dreamt of going. It stretches you as a person.
“With what we’ve got out. We’ve got eight or nine (players) out and we’re a thin list. We’re really competing quite well.”
Lyon took over as coach of the Dockers at the end of 2011 after a dramatic exit from St Kilda.
He coached Fremantle to 91 wins, 79 matches losses and a draw.
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