Updated ,first published
North Melbourne have parted ways with coach Alastair Clarkson after four seasons and with a year remaining on his contract.
Players and staff were called into the club for an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning, weeks after the end of their men’s season.
Two people with knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that it was about Clarkson’s future, and members of a coterie group were informed by the club that the 58-year-old would not coach the Roos in 2027.
Clarkson was told of the club’s decision on Tuesday after a post-season consultation period during which North bosses sought the views of the football department and players, two sources confirmed.
The leadership’s view, as communicated to the coterie, was that the Kangaroos had made progress under Clarkson but felt they needed to extract more from a talented group.
Clarkson issued a statement via his management.
“My time as coach of the North Melbourne Football Club has come to an end,” he said.
“We set out to stabilise the club and lay the foundations for a return to playing deep in September.
“The challenge was a difficult one that I embraced with my whole being.
“My family and I have been privileged to be involved in AFL football for over 40 years, but it is now time for a new chapter.”
Clarkson, who coached Hawthorn to four premierships before departing at the end of the 2020 season, has been with the Kangaroos since his appointment in late 2022.
The Roos finished 14th this year with nine wins and 14 losses. They had been in the top 10 with eight wins on June 21 but slumped out of finals contention since.
It was their highest result under Clarkson after finishes of 17th in his first two years in charge and 16th in 2025.
“We asked Alastair to give our club stability and strength and help return us to the top of the AFL ladder,” club president Sonja Hood said.
“Four years later, we have created an environment where our staff and players want to be at our club. This is a testament to the culture Alastair has helped create and the belief that he has built in this group.
“Although we have clearly made progress and won more games, we won’t shy away from our desire to want more from this talented group.
“We are incredibly grateful to Alastair for the work he’s done over the last four years and we wish him all the very best for his next chapter.”
North Melbourne players were spotted emerging from the Roos’ facilities at Arden Street after the meeting but would not comment beyond expressing excitement for next season.
As previously reported by this masthead, Clarkson signed a five-year deal worth more than $5 million when he agreed to return to his former club and has a contract that essentially guarantees him the full amount of his 2027 contract, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.
North Melbourne, who have received the highest amount of variable funding from the AFL of Victorian clubs over the past two years (surpassing St Kilda who had long held that mantle), have been a relatively frugal club since the 2000s. The Roos wiped off their debt and enjoyed repeated financial benefits from their stint of playing home games in Hobart and now Western Australia.
External discussion of Clarkson’s position and future has included the fact that Adam Simpson and John Longmire – both Kangaroos playing greats who went on to coach AFL premierships at other clubs – are not presently employed as senior coaches.
Other potential targets could include Corey Enright and Jaymie Graham, who were contenders for the Carlton and Essendon jobs, respectively, before Josh Fraser and Mark McVeigh were appointed by those clubs.
In March, Clarkson told this masthead he was all for someone else taking the top job at North Melbourne if they were better placed for a quicker return to premiership contention.
“I came back here to help the footy club. [It’s] nothing to do with ego, nothing to do with anything else except repay to North what they gave to me as a young fellow,” he said.
North had not guaranteed Clarkson’s position when pressed on whether he would coach in 2027 as contracted.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge was shocked when he was told of Clarkson’s fate midway through his press conference on Wednesday.
“Really?” Beveridge said. “Jeez.”
Beveridge served as an assistant coach under Clarkson at Hawthorn in 2012-14 when the Hawks won two flags and were narrowly beaten by Sydney in a grand final.
The Dogs coach said the constant scrutiny on senior coaches right from the start of their tenure was “disconcerting”, even if he accepted it came with the territory.
“The difficult thing with what we’re all doing is it’s a different culture now in our code,” Beveridge said.
“We’ve almost become like the EPL where senior coaches’ tenure and your own coaching mortality is speculated about a lot more than it used to be, as opposed to say the NFL, where you can have a winning season and that’s considered a success.
“What I’m concerned about is the next generation of senior coaches. Do they actually really want to put them in the situation where, from the start of their tenure, their vocational sustainability is speculated upon? It’s not a nice place to live.”
Beveridge paid tribute to Clarkson’s coaching career.
“Clarko’s been an amazing coach, amazing custodian of the game, and obviously really outspoken, and someone who’s pushed his own opinions to make the game better,” Beveridge said.
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