Alastair Clarkson reveals reasons for rejecting Carlton coaching job

After much speculation about his future, Alastair Clarkson has opened up on his decision to reject Carlton’s last-minute job offer.

Alastair Clarkson won’t be coaching Carlton next year. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Alastair Clarkson has officially ruled himself out for the race for the Carlton coaching job and opened up on his reasons for rejecting the Blues’ last-ditch offer.

It emerged on Monday newly-appointed Carlton CEO Brian Cook had contacted the former Hawthorn coach to determine once and for all if he would consider coaching the struggling side in 2022.

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In an expansive discussion on Fox Footy’s AFL 360, Clarkson revealed Cook had offered him the Carlton coaching job but he was set on his decision to take a year off from being an AFL coach.

“I spoke to Cooky over the weekend and I appreciated the call and am enormously respectful of the process that they’re going through, but I’m sticking to what I said six or eight weeks ago, that I need a spell,” Clarkson said on Monday night.

The four-time premiership-winning coach said he was determined to use his earlier-than-expected departure from the Hawks to spend more time with his family, undertake further study and try and give something back to the game.

Alastair Clarkon has ruled himself out of the race for the Carlton coaching job once and for all. (Photo by Michael Klein)

“I’ve only got two gears — that’s flat out or stop and I’m just not ready to go flat out again right now,” Clarkson said.

“My family and I had always looked at the end of next year as being the time when we’d make the decisions on what we’d do.

“Some different circumstances unfolded this year that has pushed its way a little bit earlier than what we first anticipated, but the end of next year was always the time we were going to assess what post 2022 was going to look like.

“I’ve got a very, very unique opportunity now to do three things — that’s commit to my family and friends a little bit more, I want to do some study if I can do that abroad ... and the other thing I’d like to do is try give something back to the game.

“I’ve been involved in clubland for 35 years either as a player or a coach and that’s something that I’d like to be able to do.

“I’m interested in doing some stuff with Tassie. I’ve got a long association with Tassie through the affiliation with Hawthorn but I’d like to see if I could help in some sort of way of them being able to see the feasibility of having a team in this competition.

“But that’s just among a whole heap of things I’d like to do to try to give back to the game.”

Clarkson wants to pursue other endeavours in a year off from coaching. (AAP Image/Daniel Pockett)

In a fresh relevation, Clarkson revealed he was seriously tempted by the opportunity to coach Carlton or Collingwood — two AFL clubs with storied histories.

The Magpies approached Clarkson to see if he was interested in coaching them but they eventually hired Craig McRae to be Nathan Buckley’s long-term replacement.

“I couldn’t respect two clubs greater than Collingwood and Carlton and the lure to coach those clubs is sitting there right in front of your face,” he said.

“You want to put your hand up to see if you’d be selected to coach those sides. But it wasn’t strong enough to overpower my thinking in terms of what my family and I need right now and that’s 12 months spell.”

Clarkson admitted he would likely be open to coaching an AFL side in 2023 if the chance presented itself after his year-long hiatus from the game.

“In that 12 months, I might find out I can’t recharge the batteries and I don’t want to go again (but) I think probably it’s in my DNA to want to coach again at the end of next year or the year after,” he said.

Clarkson seriously considered accepting the Carlton or Collingwood coaching jobs. Photo: Wayne Ludbey.

“But I want to use the next 12 months to try to find that out. And I might get to the end of the next 12 months and say ‘you know what, I’ve enjoyed finding second and third gear and not going flat out and I want to keep it that way for a fair period of time if not the rest of my life’.

“But I think it’s more likely I’m going to get to July or August next year and can’t wait to get back into it again.”

Clarkson said he has had a huge amount of “respect ... for the Collingwood and Carlton football clubs over a long period of time” and the challenge of taking charge of a struggling side and attempting to rise up the ladder was a tantalising prospect he almost couldn’t ignore.

“Both of them right at the present time it’s just like, ‘Oh, they’re not going so well, why would you want to coach them?’,” the 53-year-old explained.

“That’s the reason why you would want to coach them! The attraction is like — imagine getting a hold of those sides. Craig McRae’s got one and who knows who’s going to take the other.

“It’s an exciting opportunity and the lure of doing that is significant but not enough to overpower what our thinking was in terms of the family and our friends at this point in time.”

Originally published as Alastair Clarkson reveals reasons for rejecting Carlton coaching job