BRISBANE Lions coaching candidate Chris Fagan would galvanise people around him if appointed as senior coach, according to Hawthorn champion Sam Mitchell.

Fagan has been at Hawthorn since 2008 and football manager at the club for the past three seasons, however he has a solid coaching background in Tasmania and was once Melbourne's reserves coach. 

He was interviewed for the Lions coaching job early this week as the club looks to secure a senior coach before the end of next week. 

Mitchell, who has played in four premierships with Hawthorn, told SEN that Fagan's ability to know what to do and when to do it would hold him in good stead in what shapes as the most challenging job in football.

"His ability to bring people together and get the best out of people and that stability would be outstanding for any organisation," Mitchell said.

Mitchell said Fagan would get the right people around him to ensure the tactical thinking was first rate and the ideas he raised at leadership meetings at the Hawks were always adopted.

"When he does say something, usually it's something that no-one even questions. That is what we do and it usually is a great idea," Mitchell said.

Fagan is favourite to win the coaching position although John Barker and Brett Montgomery remain candidates.

The Lions appointed the highly regarded David Noble as football manager last week after he completed a 12-year stint at Adelaide and are looking to reshape their football department. 

The club has applied for a priority pick but the AFL Commission deferred a decision on that matter on Monday until further information was available.