Christian Fagan (born 23 June 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He coached the Brisbane Lions to three consecutive premierships in the Australian Football League (AFL) in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Fagan is one of the few VFL/AFL coaches to have never played at the elite level, building his career through coaching and football administration roles.
Fagan's playing career took place entirely in his home state of Tasmania, where he played over 260 games as a midfielder and forward pocket. His career spanned from 1978 to 1990 across various clubs. Fagan began his coaching career with a stint as the inaugural coach of the Tassie Mariners U18 team (1995–1997), a role that launched numerous young players into the AFL. After joining Melbourne in 1998 as reserves coach, he became an assistant coach and later the General Manager of Football Operations. At Hawthorn, Fagan served as Head of Coaching and Development (2008–2013) and General Manager of Football Operations (2013–2016). He was a key figure in the football department that oversaw the Hawks' four premiership victories.
Fagan was appointed senior coach of the Brisbane Lions in October 2016, making him the oldest coach to debut in AFL history at 55. He successfully oversaw a rebuild of the playing list, guiding the Lions to their first finals appearance since 2009 in the 2019 season. He led the Lions to three consecutive premierships in the 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons, and is a three-time winner of the Coach of the Year (2019, 2024, 2025), a record for the award. On 29 September 2026, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner honored Fagan with the prestigious Keys to the City award, which is the highest accolade a city can bestow, symbolizing recognition for significant contributions to the community.
Playing career Fagan was born in Queenstown, Tasmania. He played 263 senior games in the Tasmanian Football League (TFL) with Hobart, Sandy Bay, and Devonport and kicked 430 goals in his career. He represented Tasmania on 11 occasions and played in two premiership teams – Hobart in 1980 and Devonport in 1988.
Coaching career Tasmania Fagan spent two years as an assistant coach at North Hobart before being appointed senior coach of Sandy Bay for 1993 and 1994. He was the inaugural coach of the Tassie Mariners from 1995 to 1997. He was the 181st person to be inducted into the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
Melbourne Football Club assistant coach (1999–2007) Fagan was an assistant coach at the Melbourne Football Club under senior coach Neale Daniher between 1999 and 2007, during which the club reached the 2000 AFL Grand Final, where they lost to .
Hawthorn Football Club assistant coach and general manager of football (2008–2016) He served two roles at the Hawthorn Football Club between 2008 and 2016, where he was instrumental in the club's 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015 premiership victories. He was head of coaching and development between 2008 and mid-2013, while he was also the general manager of football alongside senior coach Alastair Clarkson between mid-2013 and the end of 2016.
In September 2022, following his departure from the club, he was alleged to have been involved in the isolation and separation of Indigenous players from their partners and families, allegations which came to light as part of an external review into historical racism commissioned by Hawthorn.
Brisbane Lions senior coach (2017–2026)
On 4 October 2016, Fagan was appointed as the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions, replacing Justin Leppitsch. He took the Lions to the finals in his third season as coach and was subsequently honoured by the AFL Coaches Association with the 2019 Allan Jeans Senior Coach of the Year Award, although the Lions lost both their home qualifying and semi-finals to and . He led the Lions to the finals in the subsequent 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons, but did not reach the grand final in any of those seasons, falling short in two preliminary finals defeats to the Geelong Cats, and a semi-final defeat to the Western Bulldogs in 2021.
At the start of 2023, Fagan signed a contract extension to keep him at the club until the 2025 season. In the 2023 season, Fagan led a successful finals campaign that saw the Brisbane Lions advance to the 2023 Grand Final against Collingwood, which they lost by four points.
In the 2024 season, after staging the second-highest finals comeback against in the semi-final, coming back from 44 points down, Fagan coached the Brisbane Lions to the 2024 Grand Final, in which they defeated the Sydney Swans by 60 points to win the premiership. In September 2024, his contract was extended again, until the end of the 2026 season.
Fagan led Brisbane to a second consecutive premiership in 2025 after finishing third on the ladder at the conclusion of the home and away season. Brisbane defeated Geelong by 47 points. In the 2026 season, Fagan coached the Brisbane Lions to their sixth premiership in the 2026 AFL Grand Final and third in a row when Brisbane defeated the Fremantle Dockers by a margin of seven points.
With his three premierships at Brisbane, Fagan holds the records as eldest premiership coach in VFL/AFL history at ages 63, 64 and 65; and as the first premiership coach never to have played a match in the VFL/AFL or (when it was the top Victorian league prior to 1897) the VFA.
Following the conclusion of the 2026 AFL season, Fagan stepped down as senior coach of Brisbane Lions. Fagan and his wife Ursula plan to return to Melbourne to be closer to family.
Senior coaching record TeamYearHome and Away SeasonFinalsWonLostDrewWin %PositionWonLostWin %ResultBRI2017517022.718th out of 18————BRI2018517022.715th out of 18————BRI2019166072.72nd out of 18020.0Lost to GWS in Semi FinalBRI2020143082.42nd out of 181150.0Lost to Geelong in Preliminary FinalBRI2021157068.24th out of 18020.0Lost to Western Bulldogs in Semi FinalBRI2022157068.26th out of 182166.7Lost to Geelong in Preliminary FinalBRI2023176073.92nd out of 182166.7Lost to Collingwood in Grand FinalBRI2024148163.05th out of 1840100.0Defeated in Grand FinalBRI2025166171.73rd out of 183175.0Defeated Geelong in Grand FinalBRI2026167069.63rd out of 183175.0Defeated Fremantle in Grand FinalTotal13384260.7 15962.5Premierships: 2024, 2025, 2026
Honours and achievements Playing honours Team TANFL premiership player (Hobart): 1980 TFL Statewide League premiership player (Devonport): 1988
Individual Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame (2007 Inductee)
Coaching honours Team AFL Premiership (Brisbane Lions): 2024, 2025, 2026 McClelland Trophy/Club Championship (Brisbane Lions): 2025 Individual 3× Jock McHale Medal (Brisbane Lions) 2024, 2025, 2026 3× AFLCA Allan Jeans Senior Coach of the Year Award: 2019, 2024, 2025 3× All-Australian coach 2024, 2025, 2026
Personal life Fagan studied a Bachelor of Education at the University of Tasmania, graduating in 1983.
During his playing and early coaching career, Fagan worked as a teacher, first at Sheffield District High School from 1988 to 1989, and later Dominic College (Primary) from 1990 to 1994.
He married his wife, Ursula, in January 1985. Together, they have two daughters and four grandchildren.
References
External links
Chris Fagan at AFL Tables Chris Fagan at AustralianFootball.com