Denis Pagan
Encyclopedia
Denis Pagan is a former Australian rules football
coach and player in the VFL/AFL. He is current coach of Northern Knights
in TAC Cup.
between 1967 and 1974, kicking 5 goals, mainly due to his permanent spot as a hard-nosed defender in the back pocket
. He represented Victoria in interstate matches
in 1971.
After the Grand Final loss to Richmond in 1974, Pagan was pushed out by Barassi. Although Pagan's dwindling form and the club's reassessment of its squad in the aftermath of 1974 loss, Pagan then moved back to his original roots (excepting Carlton, where Barassi expelled him in 1966) to South Melbourne
for two seasons, 1975–1976, playing 23 games and kicking 0 goals. However, these events did not deter Pagan from his dedication to the North Melbourne football club, despite Barassi's authoritative coaching style.
coaching experience, and at 45 years of age, made his AFL coaching debut at a late age. Pagan had earlier taken North Melbourne Under 19s to 5 Premierships during the late 1980s and early 1990s, before he took the Essendon Football Club
reserves to a premiership in 1992. Given Pagan's amazing level of success at the lower levels, it was only a matter of time before Pagan was offered a senior appointment.
He had an immediate impact at the Kangaroos, taking the side to premierships in 1996 and 1999.
He was known for pioneering a successful tactic which was termed "Pagan's Paddock", based around his key forwards Wayne Carey
and John Longmire
. The coaching strategy involved moving all forwards out of the 50-metre arc
and midfielders bombing the ball into empty space. The key forwards would run with the flight of the ball to take a mark or running goal.
By the end of his term at North Melbourne, he had established an impeccable reputation as a senior AFL coach and the longest serving coach in the club's history. His worst season at North Melbourne
was 2001, when the club missed the finals for the only time during his 10-year term at the club.
Pagan quit the North Melbourne Football Club
at the end of the 2002 season, despite the team far-exceeding all expectations in finishing 7thhttp://www.talkingfootball.net/final_ladder_2002.html), which was never expected after Wayne Carey
left the club at the beginning of the year after his much-publicised affair.
At the end of 2002 he was poached by then Carlton President John Elliott
to take up a new job at the Carlton Football Club
.
. He made an immediate impact at the club by terminating the contracts of many senior players to rebuild the side. In his first year in 2003 Carlton had an unsuccessful season in which they finished fifteenth with the previous year's severe draft penalties, injuries and poor form not helping his cause. In 2004 Pagan lead Carlton to finish eleventh, which was Carlton's highest placing under Pagan. In 2005 After Carlton won the pre-season, which many thought it would be a good season for Carlton they finished 16th for the wooden spoon
. In 2006 Pagan lead Carlton yet again another wooden spoon
with only three wins for the season; two of which were against and the other against fellow cellar-dwellar . In round 16, Carlton were involved in a draw with Essendon in a match which would not only decide the wooden spoon (Essendon had only won one game and were on the bottom of the ladder leading into round 16) but also what the media dubbed the "Bryce Gibbs Cup". Carlton's season ended with a dismal 92-point thrashing from eventual runners-up the Sydney Swans
at the SCG
.
He had often been criticised for the lack of performance at Carlton during a time of financial crisis, and his lucrative 3 year incentive based contract. It is also believed that Carlton's salary cap debacle of 2002 may have been a factor in the club not performing well under Pagan. He had also come under fire for what some believe to be an overly "Fev-centric" gameplan, revolving around star forward Brendan Fevola
and neglecting other forwards to the team's detriment. After much controversy and speculation over him leading the side to the 2006
wooden spoon
, there were talks that he may be sacked. However, after a 6-hour meeting, it was decided that Pagan would stay on at least until the end of the 2008 season.
In the 2007 season when Pagan and Carlton still weren't making an improvement, on 23 July 2007, Pagan was sacked as coach of Carlton, after five consecutive heavy defeats. He was not bitter at the club's decision, and wanted to go on record that he would never have quit as the coach of the Carlton Football Club
. The day before, Carlton had suffered a 117 point belting at the hands of the Brisbane Lions
at the Gabba in Round 16, 2007, in which Lions' full-forward Jonathan Brown kicked a record 10 goals to put Carlton, and Pagan, out of their misery. Brown went on to win that season's Coleman Medal
. It would prove to be the nail in the coffin for Pagan and his job. Pagan was replaced by assistant coach Brett Ratten
as caretaker coach for the reminder of the 2007 season and was eventually appointed full-time coach of Carlton. The Blues have since made steady improvement on the field. Pagan had a year to go on his contract which was paid out in full by the club. Nine months later in The Herald Sun
newspaper Pagan also stated that coaching Carlton was "the worst job he's ever had".
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
coach and player in the VFL/AFL. He is current coach of Northern Knights
Northern Knights
The Northern Knights are an Australian rules football club playing in the TAC Cup, an under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. They are based in Preston, representing the northern suburban area of Melbourne....
in TAC Cup.
Playing career
Pagan played 120 games for the North Melbourne Football ClubNorth Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
between 1967 and 1974, kicking 5 goals, mainly due to his permanent spot as a hard-nosed defender in the back pocket
Back pocket
In Australian rules football, the back pocket refers to a position on the field deep in defence.Back pocket players, situated in the backline, need to have good spoiling skills and usually, quality back-pockets are noted for their hardness....
. He represented Victoria in interstate matches
Interstate matches in Australian rules football
Australian rules football matches between teams representing Australian colonies/states and territories have been held since 1879. For most of the 20th century, the absence of a national club competition and international matches meant that football games between state representative teams were...
in 1971.
After the Grand Final loss to Richmond in 1974, Pagan was pushed out by Barassi. Although Pagan's dwindling form and the club's reassessment of its squad in the aftermath of 1974 loss, Pagan then moved back to his original roots (excepting Carlton, where Barassi expelled him in 1966) to South Melbourne
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
for two seasons, 1975–1976, playing 23 games and kicking 0 goals. However, these events did not deter Pagan from his dedication to the North Melbourne football club, despite Barassi's authoritative coaching style.
North Melbourne Football Club
Pagan first came to North Melbourne in 1993 without any Australian Football LeagueAustralian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
coaching experience, and at 45 years of age, made his AFL coaching debut at a late age. Pagan had earlier taken North Melbourne Under 19s to 5 Premierships during the late 1980s and early 1990s, before he took the Essendon Football Club
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
reserves to a premiership in 1992. Given Pagan's amazing level of success at the lower levels, it was only a matter of time before Pagan was offered a senior appointment.
He had an immediate impact at the Kangaroos, taking the side to premierships in 1996 and 1999.
He was known for pioneering a successful tactic which was termed "Pagan's Paddock", based around his key forwards Wayne Carey
Wayne Carey
Wayne Carey is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne and Adelaide Football Clubs in the Australian Football League ....
and John Longmire
John Longmire
John Longmire is the current coach of the Sydney Swans. As a player, he represented the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League from 1988 to 1999.-Early years:...
. The coaching strategy involved moving all forwards out of the 50-metre arc
50-metre arc
In Australian rules football, the 50-metre arc is one of the arcs that exist at each end of the ground, 50m from the goal line...
and midfielders bombing the ball into empty space. The key forwards would run with the flight of the ball to take a mark or running goal.
By the end of his term at North Melbourne, he had established an impeccable reputation as a senior AFL coach and the longest serving coach in the club's history. His worst season at North Melbourne
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
was 2001, when the club missed the finals for the only time during his 10-year term at the club.
Pagan quit the North Melbourne Football Club
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
at the end of the 2002 season, despite the team far-exceeding all expectations in finishing 7thhttp://www.talkingfootball.net/final_ladder_2002.html), which was never expected after Wayne Carey
Wayne Carey
Wayne Carey is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne and Adelaide Football Clubs in the Australian Football League ....
left the club at the beginning of the year after his much-publicised affair.
At the end of 2002 he was poached by then Carlton President John Elliott
John Elliott (businessman)
John Dorman Elliott is a former president of the Liberal Party, and former president of Carlton Football Club. In 2003 he was found guilty of trading while insolvent and in 2005 declared bankrupt...
to take up a new job at the Carlton Football Club
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
.
Carlton Football Club
In 2003 Pagan was appointed coach of the Carlton Football ClubCarlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
. He made an immediate impact at the club by terminating the contracts of many senior players to rebuild the side. In his first year in 2003 Carlton had an unsuccessful season in which they finished fifteenth with the previous year's severe draft penalties, injuries and poor form not helping his cause. In 2004 Pagan lead Carlton to finish eleventh, which was Carlton's highest placing under Pagan. In 2005 After Carlton won the pre-season, which many thought it would be a good season for Carlton they finished 16th for the wooden spoon
Wooden spoon (award)
A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
. In 2006 Pagan lead Carlton yet again another wooden spoon
Wooden spoon (award)
A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
with only three wins for the season; two of which were against and the other against fellow cellar-dwellar . In round 16, Carlton were involved in a draw with Essendon in a match which would not only decide the wooden spoon (Essendon had only won one game and were on the bottom of the ladder leading into round 16) but also what the media dubbed the "Bryce Gibbs Cup". Carlton's season ended with a dismal 92-point thrashing from eventual runners-up the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
at the SCG
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
.
He had often been criticised for the lack of performance at Carlton during a time of financial crisis, and his lucrative 3 year incentive based contract. It is also believed that Carlton's salary cap debacle of 2002 may have been a factor in the club not performing well under Pagan. He had also come under fire for what some believe to be an overly "Fev-centric" gameplan, revolving around star forward Brendan Fevola
Brendan Fevola
Brendan Fevola is a professional Australian rules footballer. He played with the Carlton and Brisbane Lions football clubs in the Australian Football League....
and neglecting other forwards to the team's detriment. After much controversy and speculation over him leading the side to the 2006
2006 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2006.-National Cup: 3.10.5 defeated 1.10.15 in the 2006 NAB Cup Final...
wooden spoon
Wooden spoon (award)
A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
, there were talks that he may be sacked. However, after a 6-hour meeting, it was decided that Pagan would stay on at least until the end of the 2008 season.
In the 2007 season when Pagan and Carlton still weren't making an improvement, on 23 July 2007, Pagan was sacked as coach of Carlton, after five consecutive heavy defeats. He was not bitter at the club's decision, and wanted to go on record that he would never have quit as the coach of the Carlton Football Club
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
. The day before, Carlton had suffered a 117 point belting at the hands of the Brisbane Lions
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
at the Gabba in Round 16, 2007, in which Lions' full-forward Jonathan Brown kicked a record 10 goals to put Carlton, and Pagan, out of their misery. Brown went on to win that season's Coleman Medal
Coleman Medal
The Coleman Medal is awarded yearly to the Australian Football League player who kicks the most goals in regular-season matches in that year...
. It would prove to be the nail in the coffin for Pagan and his job. Pagan was replaced by assistant coach Brett Ratten
Brett Ratten
Brett "Ratts" Ratten is a former Australian rules footballer and the current coach of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League....
as caretaker coach for the reminder of the 2007 season and was eventually appointed full-time coach of Carlton. The Blues have since made steady improvement on the field. Pagan had a year to go on his contract which was paid out in full by the club. Nine months later in The Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
newspaper Pagan also stated that coaching Carlton was "the worst job he's ever had".
Post coaching career
In 2008, Pagan became a board member for North Melbourne however after the 2008 season he left the position.Coaching record
| Season | Team | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Position | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Yarraville | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 6th | 61.11% |
| 1980 | Yarraville | 21 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 2nd | 71.42% |
| 1982–1991 | North Melbourne Under 19s | 238 | 193 | 44 | 1 | – | 81.30% |
| 1992 1992 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1992. The AFL Grand Final this year was won by the West Coast Eagles, who became the first non-Victorian club to win a Premiership.-Ladder:... |
Essendon Reserves | 24 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 1st | 87.50% |
| 1993 1993 AFL season -Ladder:All teams played 20 games during the home and away season, for a total of 165. Each team also had two byes. An additional 7 games were played during the finals series.-Awards:*The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Gavin Wanganeen of .... |
North Melbourne | 21 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 3rd | 61.90% |
| 1994 1994 AFL season -Ladder:All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 165. An additional 9 games were played during the finals series. It was the first season that the AFL implemented a top 8 team finals series... |
24 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 3rd | 58.33% | |
| 1995 1995 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1995.-Round 1:-Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:*This was the first ANZAC Day clash held between Collingwood and Essendon which famously ended in a draw.-Round 5:-Round 6:... |
25 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 3rd | 64.00% | |
| 1996 1996 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:... |
25 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 1st | 76.00% | |
| 1997 1997 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1997.The Port Adelaide Power joined the competition.The Brisbane Lions also joined the competition after the merger of the and .... |
25 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 4th | 56.00% | |
| 1998 | 25 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 2nd | 72.00% | |
| 1999 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 1st | 80.00% | |
| 2000 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 4th | 60.00% | |
| 2001 2001 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2001.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:Port Adelaide defeated Brisbane Lions 17.9 to 3.8 in the Final.... |
22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 13th | 40.91% | |
| 2002 2002 AFL season -Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:-Round 5 :-Ladder:All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 176... |
23 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 7th | 52.17% | |
| 2003 2003 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2003.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:... |
Carlton | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 15th | 18.18% |
| 2004 2004 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2004.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Wizard Home Loans Cup:The Wizard Home Loans Cup Final saw St... |
22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 11th | 45.45% | |
| 2005 2005 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2005.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:... |
22 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 16th | 20.45% | |
| 2006 2006 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2006.-National Cup: 3.10.5 defeated 1.10.15 in the 2006 NAB Cup Final... |
22 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 16th | 15.91% | |
| 2007 2007 AFL season The 2007 AFL Season was the 111th season of the Australian Football League, the highest-level professional Australian rules football league in Australia... |
16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 14th1 | 25.00% | |
| 2009 | Northern Knights | 19 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 8th | 47.36% |
| Career totals | 664 | 424 | 237 | 3 | - | 64.08% | |
- 1 Carlton were 14th at the time of Pagan's sacking.