Damien Hardwick reveals how his ‘fatal mistake’ watching a Netflix documentary set him on track to bomb Tigers sacking
- Says ‘The Last Dance’ played a part in resignation
- Documentary almost made him fight on
- Says he couldn’t give “100 percent” for the job
Damien Hardwick has relinquished the top job at Richmond after realizing he could no longer “give 100 per cent” to the job – and revealed that a popular Netflix documentary played a role in his departure.
Hardwick told a packed media conference at Punt Road on Tuesday that it became clear to him a few weeks ago that the time was right to step down and let the players “listen to another voice”.
“I’d rather leave early than late,” he said.
Hardwick said watching the documentary The Last Dance — a series that focuses on Michael Jordan’s time with the Chicago Bulls — played a big part in the decision that sent shockwaves through the football world when the news broke Monday night.
“I made the fatal mistake of watching The Last Dance and thinking about what could have been,” Hardwick said.
Richmond’s longest-serving coach, Damien Hardwick, has relinquished the top job after realizing he was no longer able to commit ‘100 per cent’.
Hardwick said at his press conference that watching the documentary The Last Dance – a series focusing on Michael Jordan’s years with the Chicago Bulls – was a “fatal mistake.”
“But once I decided that part of the equation was starting to slip, I started asking myself what it was like to coach Richmond
“As soon as I started asking the question more, I started to understand what the answer would be.
So the best thing for myself was to step aside. If I couldn’t give 100 percent, I could never coach this football club.’
That gives the club the best chance of finding the next coach and I wish Andrew and the assistants all the best.
“But if I couldn’t give this group of players, this club, these people besides me the very best of Damian Hardwick, I wasn’t willing to find out.”
Current assistant Andrew McQualter has been appointed interim coach and will take the reins for Sunday’s game against Port Adelaide.
Hardwick paid tribute to everyone connected to Richmond – a club he joined in 2010 following an impressive playing career at Essendon and Port Adelaide and an assistant coaching spell at Hawthorn under his great friend Alastair Clarkson.
“It’s a tough job being an AFL coach, but the support I’ve received from most people has been absolutely outstanding,” he said.
The Last Dance followed Jordan (pictured with Scottie Pippen) as he lost and then rediscovered his love of basketball before he retired from one of the greatest NBA careers ever
Hardwick says it’s best for him to step aside and give the club the best chance of finding someone new
“Richmond football club has been the love of my life.”
Richmond President John O’Rourke paid tribute to Hardwick’s legacy.
“History was made under his watch and we will forever be indebted for it,” he told reporters.