Record Breaking Coach Sacked

Image: Source: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images AsiaPac

By Justin Lemmon

Less than a month after becoming the longest serving coach in AFL/VFL history, Carlton coach Michael Malthouse has been sacked. The side’s disastrous start to the season – securing just one win from eight rounds, had seemingly made Malthouse’s position untenable, but a dramatic interview on Melbourne radio hastened the decision.

The Carlton board were to review the senior coaching position during the round 11 bye weekend but the decision was brought forward after Malthouse’s interview on radio station SEN. He stated that “if people can judge me after 30 years, what’s two more weeks mean?” and when asked whether he thought he would be re-signed Malthouse answered unequivocally “no”.

Malthouse also believed his players had been let down by the club’s stated desire to rebuild “the club needed to say about a rebuild…the invariable thing that took place is the player’s felt alienated by it”.

These seemingly divergent aims were a key motivation in the sacking, as Carlton president Mark LoGiudice confirmed that there had been a “loss of trust between club and coach”. LoGiudice told media that “from a board perspective, we thought that Mick’s views weren’t aligned with ours”, chief executive Stephen Trigg echoing the sentiment “the coach, president, CEO…have to be lockstep every step of the way and our view was that wasn’t the case”.

The sacking ends Malthouse’s 31 year, 718 game and four club coaching career as confirmed in a statement released by the former coach after his sacking. Having coached premierships in 1992 and 1994 with the West Coast Eagles and in 2010 with Collingwood it has been one of the most successful and storied careers in football history.

Current backline coach John Barker will take over as interim coach.