"Speaking to people at Hawthorn, to say he is highly regarded at the footy club is a massive understatement. He is spoken of in the highest possible terms,” - these are the words of Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton who, before Chris Fagan's appointment as Brisbane Lions Senior Coach today, said that Fagan would be the ideal man for the Brisbane Lions.

Fagan has been credited with coaching the Hawks coaching group and developing assistants like Luke Beveridge, Adam Simpson, Leon Cameron, Brendon Bolton and Damien Hardwick into senior roles.

He had 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.

“Anybody who has had anything to do with him thinks he is incredibly good and incredibly methodical. Just look at all the coaches that have come out of the (Alastair) Clarkson/Fagan coaching school in recent times,” said Brereton.

“If a person like Chris Fagan gets them now (Lions players), he can really put his stamp on them and lay the foundation for them being very good in the future.’’

Brereton wasn’t alone in his praise for Fagan - Sam Mitchell last week said that Fagan would ‘galvanise’ the people around him if appointed as Senior Coach.

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 at the Lions.

"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 gather 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 questions. That is what we do and it usually is a great idea," Mitchell said.