Adelaide assistant coach Murray Davis has ruled himself out of the race to replace Chris Fagan at the Brisbane Lions, the Herald Sun reported on Monday.
Davis was sounded out by the reigning premiers because of his close ties to the club but won’t pursue the role, according to the Herald Sun, which reported that his withdrawal leaves “an in-house choice the raging favourite”.
Davis spent 13 seasons at the Lions before joining Adelaide, starting in player development before moving into coaching the defence and then the forward line during the 2024 premiership season, Zero Hanger reported.
He also applied for the Essendon senior coaching job this year and came close, before the role went to former Bomber Mark McVeigh, Zero Hanger reported.
“The process was really thorough (and) I loved every minute of it,” Davis said on ABC Grandstand in August, as reported by Zero Hanger. “Should there be another club out there that would like me to go through the process, I would certainly put my hand up again.”
Read more: AFL: Danny Daly Pulls Out of Brisbane Lions Coaching Race
Cameron Bruce the frontrunner
Current Brisbane assistant Cameron Bruce, who was Fagan’s understudy during the three-peat, is believed to be the frontrunner for the job, Zero Hanger reported. Fagan endorsed Bruce as his replacement last week.
“He’s been involved in a large number of premierships – six I think it is, three here and three at Hawthorn – so he’s been around a long, long time,” Fagan told SEN, as reported by Zero Hanger. “Here is an opportunity where he doesn’t have to go anywhere; he’s here in Brisbane already.”
Who will pick the next Lions coach
Brisbane’s coach selection panel includes chair Andrew Wellington, chief executive Sam Graham, general manager of football Danny Daly, club coaching mentor Phil Smyth, Lions great Leigh Matthews, former star Simon Black and sports psychologist Matti Clements. The group plans to decide on a new coach by the end of October, Zero Hanger reported.
Fagan stepped down as Lions coach after leading the club to three straight premierships.
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