MICHAEL Voss' tenure as Carlton coach is over.
AFL.com.au understands Voss handed in his resignation in recent days while in Queensland following the loss to Brisbane on Friday night.
After recent discussions with Carlton and footy boss Chris Davies, the decision was made and the two parties parted ways in a call the club had been set to make for several weeks.
In a lengthy and wide-ranging press conference on Tuesday, Davis, club CEO Graham Wright and president Rob Priestley said the club had been prepared to back Voss in ahead of the season, but it had become increasingly apparent in recent weeks that a change was needed.
Priestley said Voss came to Davies last Friday and said given the speculation about his future, it was the right time to step away.
"I'm not going to apologise for effectively allowing the coach to coach out his final year," Priestly said.
"We wanted to give him the opportunity."
Davies said Voss addressed the playing group on Tuesday morning, urging them to continue to strive to get better in his absence.
"Michael was in a very reflective mood earlier on. He spoke outstandingly well to the players and staff - as I understand it, he spoke brilliantly to the administration staff," Davies said.
"Michael is a fantastic storyteller, so he went back through a lot of his history in the game. I'm fortunate to have known Michael for 10 or 11 years now and have shared some of that history with him.
"He was very reflective, but also wanting the people still at this club to get their clear air to do what is next."
After significant list changes under Voss in recent years, Wright said the short-term focus would be on the draft.
"We're going to attack the draft. We've been really open with that, that over the next two or three years - and we've probably started before now with the last two years - we'll certainly go to the draft again this year," he said.
"This is the last uncompromised draft before Tassie comes in. We've got two (first-round) picks in this year's draft, whether we get to keep both of those depends on what happens to Cody (Walker).
"We'd also like to have more picks in this year's draft, and we've got two in next year's as well.
"That'll be the way we'll attack it."
The search now begins for Voss's replacement, with assistant coach Josh Fraser to take over as interim coach.
Carlton is fancied to be in the market for a first-time coach, but Wright denied it had a candidate or type of candidate in mind
"We haven't had any of those conversations with anyone, to be honest," he said.
"We actually haven't put together a list of people we want to speak to.
"But we will run a process, which I would have thought could rule people out. But we're here to talk about Michael today."
On whether being Carlton head coach is an attractive job for a prospective coach, Wright said: "I think so, absolutely. Carlton is one of the big clubs in Melbourne, one of the big clubs in the AFL."
The Blues currently sit in 16th spot on the ladder after just one win so far this season.
Carlton players arrived at Ikon Park this morning, with skipper Patrick Cripps saying he spoke to Voss before the news broke, labelling him "a great mentor and a great coach to me".
"I'm a bit flat because I've been some good times and also some tough times with him. I've got a great relationship with Vossy. From my end, I couldn't speak highly enough of Vossy," Cripps told the waiting media.
Teammate Ollie Florent said: "He's Michael Voss, he's led by example for so long. I've never had this many cameras in my face before. It's really sad to see him go."
Voss was appointed Carlton coach in September 2021 and famously led the Blues to a preliminary final in 2023.
But the club has endured a horror run since then and have a 1-8 record so far this season.
He finishes his tenure at the Blues with a 49-1-53 record from 103 games.
Voss enjoyed a brilliant start to his tenure at the Blues, winning seven of his first nine games in 2022 before a late-season capitulation saw them lose their last four games - including a heartbreaking defeat to arch rivals Collingwood in the final round - to miss finals on percentage.
The Blues then won just four of the first 13 games of the following season before going on a dream run, winning nine consecutive games to return to September. Famous finals wins over Sydney and Melbourne followed before they gave up an early lead in a preliminary final loss to Brisbane.
An injury-plagued 2024 season saw the Blues start 11-4 but then slump to finish in eighth spot with a 13-10 record before they lost to the Lions, the eventual premiers, in an elimination final.
They then lost the first four matches of 2025 and finished 11th on the ladder with a 9-14 record before a seismic off-season that saw the departures of Charlie Curnow, Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni to other clubs.
Carlton's only win this season was a four-point win over Richmond in round one.
Voss' departure comes just days after the Blues gave the two-time reigning premier a scare at the Gabba, losing by just 11 points having trailed by as much as 49 points earlier in the game.
It was the reversal of the club's recent tendency to fall away in the second half of games, and Voss again lamented his side's inability to play all four quarters.
"It highlights the capacity that's in the group, but it's also a familiar narrative in that the game asks you to play for longer," Voss said.
"We fought, which was pleasing. We could tell especially after half-time that there was a confidence growing with the group.
"But we've still got to be better than playing a half of football, we've got to put more time together than that.
"We can't be comfortable in mediocrity, we've got to have higher standards of ourselves than that.
"We've put ourselves in positions in most games but I'm also sick of saying that."
Voss previously coached Brisbane for five seasons, before he was sacked at the end of 2013.
The 50-year-old spent six seasons as an assistant at Port Adelaide and was appointed Carlton coach when the Blues sacked David Teague at the end of 2021.
Voss served as a commentator for two years after he retired from playing in 2006.
As a player, he captained the Lions to three-straight premierships between 2001 and 2003, won the 1996 Brownlow Medal, made five All-Australian teams and twice won the AFLPA MVP award.
He finishes his stint at the Blues with 501 games combined as a player and coach.
- with staff writers and AAP
Michael Voss as coach
Brisbane (2009-2013)
Games: 109
Wins: 43
Draws: 1
Losses: 65
Carlton (2021-2026)
Games: 103
Wins: 49
Draws: 1
Losses: 53
