Guy McKenna has been sacked as coach of the Gold Coast Suns with a year left to run on his contract.
The club informed McKenna of its decision on Tuesday.
The inaugural coach of the expansion club, McKenna has been in charge at the Suns for four seasons. He has come under pressure recently with the Suns falling out of finals contention in the latter part of the season.
Gold Coast released a statement on Tuesday saying it and McKenna had “mutually and respectfully” agreed to part ways.
In the statement, Suns chairman John Witheriff said McKenna had put the club first.
“Guy was naturally disappointed but, as he has done since being appointed in August 2008, he put the interests of the club and our future ambitions first,” Witheriff said.
McKenna said in the statement that he would have preferred to remain coach, but said it was a “privilege” to have coached the Suns.
“It has been a privilege to have coached the Gold Coast SUNS and I know the success the club aspires to achieve is not too far away,” he said
“The club has every right to pursue a direction it believes will give it the best chance of continued improvement. Although I leave with a heavy heart, I am content that I have helped develop a unique group of players.
“I leave with some great memories and strong friendships and I know they will remain despite my early departure.”
Witheriff paid tribute to McKenna: “Guy is a man with tremendous values and he will leave us knowing his legacy is our club’s promising future.
“He has been paramount in installing our club’s values – Bold, Fresh, Relentless, Community and Dependable. Those values are the guiding principles which our people live by every day.
“The fact that the Gold Coast Suns are now respected by our rivals in the AFL is due in no small part to the contribution Guy has made as our first senior coach,” Witheriff said.
There has been recent speculation that McKenna would not continue as coach in the long term, with Essendon interim coach Mark Thompson rumoured to be a possible replacement.
Thompson has not yet committed to staying at or leaving Essendon in 2015.
The Suns will hold a press conference at 2pm today.
This story first appeared in The Age.
