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Important SN update for SouthlandCoaching-killing Blues? A modern history of Carlton's coaches
Luke Mathews • June 29th, 2025 1:45 pm
As one of the biggest clubs in the country there is always pressure on the Carlton Football Club.
The Blues have one of the biggest followings in the league and their passionate fan base expects success.
The club has been starved of silverware. They last saluted back in 1995 and have only made one preliminary final since 2001.
With this there has been plenty of turnover at Princes Park since the turn of the millennium with eight different coaches having a go in the hot seat.
Barring David Parkin’s final year in 2000, just about every single one has failed to live up to expectations and has been unable to return the Blues to the promised land.
Brittain and Pagan fail
First it started with Wayne Brittain.
Brittain was a highly regarded assistant coach at the Blues and was handed the reins when legendary coach David Parkin retired at the end of 2000.
His first season saw them finish sixth and won a final, however, in his second season (2002) the Blues collected a first wooden spoon in club history.
With John Elliott’s tenure as Blues’ president in jeopardy, the club was courting North Melbourne premiership coach Denis Pagan to help ease the pressure.
When the two-time flag-winning coach opted to jump ship, Brittain had no choice but to step aside and many felt the club had let him down.
Pagan arrived at the end of 2002 and the club had high hopes, but they were in the midst of a salary cap scandal that was threatening to tear the club apart.
He finished 15th in his first season and 11th in his second season, however, it proved to be a false dawn with the club winning back-to-back wooden spoons in 2005 and 2006.
Carlton decided to stick with Pagan for 2007, but the decision turned out to be the wrong one in the end.
The Blues suffered five consecutive losses through the middle part of the year including a 117-point loss to Brisbane.
The heavy defeat was enough to spell the end for Pagan and years later he said that his tenure at Carlton was like a snake pit due to the division and disunity at the club.
Ratten steps in
Once again the Blues opted to appoint an assistant coach. This time it was 1995 premiership player Brett Ratten who took over for the 2008 season after a stint as caretaker coach.
The 255-gamer had the longest tenure as Carlton coach and saw steady progress in his early years.
They reached the finals in 2009 and 2010 but were eliminated at the first time of asking before making a semi final in 2011 and were just three points away from a preliminary final.
Expectations were high heading into 2012 and the team hit the ground running with three big wins over Richmond, Brisbane and Collingwood.
The joy for Blues fans was short lived with the losses starting to mount up in the middle of the year.
The unrest grew when 15th placed Port Adelaide defeated Carlton by 54 points in Round 10 and another three defeats would follow in the next month.
Mick makes the move
At the same time, Collingwood and West Coast premiership coach Mick Malthouse was without a job after a controversial coaching handover and still keen to prove he still had what it takes.
With the noise continuing to grow and the results not improving the club decided to act.
A 12-point loss to Gold Coast in Round 22 was enough for the Blues to part ways with Ratten and shortly after Malthouse was appointed as senior coach.
His first season was a positive one which included a finals victory over Richmond despite finishing ninth, however, the team took a step back the next year finishing 13th.
The Blues vowed that Malthouse was the right man to lead them into 2015, but the performances didn’t show that, winning just once from their first 11 games.
The Giants thrashed the Blues by 78 points in Round 7 and shortly after Malthouse went on radio and criticised the club’s administration.
The board had seen enough and gave Malthouse got the sack halfway through the season with assistant John Barker left to pick up the pieces.
Bring in Bolton
In search of yet another coach, Carlton decided to go with Hawthorn assistant Brendon Bolton after his five-game unbeaten streak with the Hawks during an Alastair Clarkson absence in 2015.
Just like his predecessors, Bolton saw some improvement in his early years with a 14th placed finish in 2016 and 16th in 2017.
The club was expected to rise in 2018. The end result was another disastrous season, finishing 18th with just two wins and handing the club its fifth wooden spoon this century.
Carlton once again chose to stand by Bolton for the 2019 season, however they once again failed to deliver on their promises as the 'green shoots' failed to fully sprout.
The side started the season 1-10 and their overly defensive game style garnered plenty of criticism with the Blues failing to score over 100 points for 59 straight games.
Even though president Mark LoGiudice said they would stand by Bolts, the pressure was too much and the club had to act.
Teague takes reins
Bolton was sacked after a 41-point loss to arch rivals Essendon and David Teague was given the job as caretaker coach.
The board saw enough improvement in the second half of the season to give Teague the job on a full-time basis.
His first season was marred by the COVID pandemic however the Blues still managed an 11th placed finish.
The recruitment of Zac Williams and Adam Saad over the off-season left many feeling that finally this was the year the Blues make a push for September.
Once again early defeats meant unrest grew amongst supporters and a change of president ramped up the pressure.
New president Luke Sayers announced a review. Captain Patrick Cripps said that the club's performance was “on everyone”, not just the under-fire coach.
The performances didn’t improve on the field and a 95-point loss to Port Adelaide in Round 22 meant Teague’s time at Princes Park was all but over.
In his final press conference the coach conceded that it was looking like the outcome of the review wasn’t going to go in his favour.
Just days later he too was sacked and the club was left searching for another coach.
Voss the boss
It brings us to the Michael Voss era.
We’ve seen this story before.
Positive performances early gave supporters hope that the club had turned the corner.
The 2023 season, which at one stage looked gone, ended in a rare Preliminary Final appearance after a powerful home-and-away and finals run.
High-profile recruits raised expectations, subsequent poor performances ramped up the pressure and star players were forced to defend their coach.
Cripps, who looked forlorn after Thursday night's 50-point loss to Port Adelaide, said on Channel 7: "We love Vossy.
"I couldn't speak highly enough of Vossy, I really mean that.
"There's a genuine connection with him. We've got his back for sure."
Another coach defended by the leader of the playing group.
Once again, new personnel is taking over in the form of incoming CEO Graham Wright and ultimately he will be the man who decides Voss’ fate.
Voss does have a contract for 2026 so the final eight games of 2025 may just decide whether he is the right man to lead the Blues forward.
Some think he is. Many think he is not.
