Carlton coach Michael Voss has resigned, effective immediately.
A “flat” Blues skipper Patrick Cripps confirmed reports from early Tuesday morning that his senior coach had stepped down from his role after four and a half seasons at the helm.
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Voss’ decision comes after a tumultuous start to the final year of his contract, with the Blues losing eight of their first nine games — including, most recently, a gallant loss to Brisbane.
Assistant coach Josh Fraser will reportedly serve in the interim.
Carlton staff were reportedly called to a meeting at 10am (AEST) before players started to arrive at Ikon Park on Tuesday morning.
Cripps on arrival said Voss called him on Monday night to “just let me know before everyone else found out” about the decision.
“He’s been a great mentor and a great coach to me … Our relationship is really strong,” Cripps told reporters.
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“You’re flat because you’ve been through some good times and also some tough times with him.
“From my end, I couldn’t speak highly enough of Vossy.”
Vice-captain Jacob Weitering waited in his car before hurrying in, while star forward Harry McKay used a main entrance and was brief with media going in, saying: “I don’t know much.”
Carlton director of football Greg Williams avoided the media by doing laps of the carpark and eventually drove through an entrance into the staff-only carpark. Port Adelaide legend and Carlton leadership mentor Travis Boak said Voss’ exit was “a sad situation but footy’s a brutal business”, adding: “I just feel sad for the person, he loves this club and he’s done a lot for this club.”
Current Carlton coaching mentor Adam Simpson, John Longmire, Nathan Buckley and Ken Hinkley are all potential options for the Blues.
Voss on Friday night said he wasn’t concerned about the possibility of being sacked after the Blues slumped to their eighth defeat in nine games, declaring he didn’t “coach for his job”.
“I coach for building a culture, and hopefully by the time, by the time I leave here, we’ve got winning behaviours, and understand clearly what that looks like,” he said.
“Often people will make it about your job, but the reality is, I’ll make it about something else, and that’s what we’ve got to continue to reinforce within our own environment.“
CODE Sports reports Voss held regular talks with chief executive Graham Wright and football boss Chris Davies in recent weeks to discuss his future.
The club was concerned with what it saw as a string of roster missteps that saw Charlie Curnow, Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni depart.
Over the weekend, Davies addressed Voss’ future.
“Look, that will clearly be a discussion from the commentators…. My role right here, right now, is to provide as much support to Michael as I possibly can for this game here,” he said.
“And he knows, he is a realist, that our performances need to get better. He is working really hard to get that done.”
Seven’s Tom Morris, speaking on SEN, said both parties came to the conclusion a change was needed if the club was to move forward,
“The Blues really respect Michael Voss, clearly. Lots of people do in football.
“I think they made it pretty clear to him that they weren’t going to continue beyond this year.
“It was up to him how he proceeded from here and he decided to resign himself rather than drag it out another few weeks and just put on a brave face.
Addressing Voss’ future, AFL reporter Jon Ralph said moving on from their coach now allowed the Blues enough time to make important calls over its list.
“The greatest challenge for Carlton is to exit Michael Voss with all of the respect that he deserves, but also finding a coach before the finals campaign starts,” Ralph told Fox Footy’s On The Couch on Monday night.
Carlton interested in Joel Amartey | 01:20
“That would give Carlton all the time it needs for massive list calls. The likes of Patrick Cripps, Harry McKay and also chase the likes of Joel Amartey.
“If you’ve got a coach in place by September 1, you can make that call and make that pitch and show your vision.
Carlton legend Anthony Koutoufides, meanwhile, said he was “shocked” by the news.
“They were terrific against Brisbane. Maybe there was some hope there,” he told SEN on Tuesday.
On where it went wrong, Koutoufides said: “I felt like for those two or three years, we had the list, we had the players.
“A couple of years ago in 2024, it looked like they were going to win it … It fell away so quickly. As quick as it came, as quick as it disappeared.
“It’s not easy to win them, but I think the list was there.”
Over five seasons, Voss coached Carlton to a 49-53-1 record, taking the club to back-to-back finals campaigns in 2023-24.
‘I don’t coach for my job!’ | 01:06
His 2-2 finals record included a sparkling run to the preliminary final in the 2023 season. Both losses came against Brisbane.
Voss and Carlton were rocked by the Elijah Hollands saga in April, which saw the club come under intense scrutiny for the better part of a month.
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