Carlton football director Greg Williams set to step down after playing ‘smaller role’ in coach search

Carlton premiership winner and Brownlow medallist Greg Williams is set to step down from the AFL club’s board in the coming months.

The 62-year-old football director was not a formal member of the panel that endorsed Josh Fraser as the Blues’ new senior coach but was consulted several times.

Williams joined the board in 2021 and was immediately tasked with leading the process that appointed Michael Voss.

But he will now exit as football director before the start of next season, Channel 7’s Caroline Wilson reports.

“(Williams) played a smaller role in the search for the new coach,” Wilson said on The Agenda Setters.

“Williams will stay on at the club as a paid consultant, part-time consultant, largely working on a couple of commercial projects and of course the Carlton academy.”

Williams’ exit would leave the Blues without a football person on the board.

He had replaced ex-captain Chris Judd, who in turn took over from 1987 premiership player Adrian Gleeson.

“The board is not ruling out bringing in another former player,” Wilson added.

Carlton CEO Graham Wright does not sit on the board but is an AFL premiership player and legendary administrator.

Williams initially returned to the Blues in 2019 as a skills coach, working closely with Patrick Cripps in particular.

He was forced out of the role in 2020 when the COVID shutdown forced cuts to football department spending across the league, though he would still go on to appear at training over the years.

Meanwhile, The Agenda Setters panellist Dale Thomas said his former Collingwood teammate Fraser was in a good place to lead Carlton back up the ladder.

“You can see the joy in the room when it was announced, and now really the hard work starts going into a wildcard position.”