THE DEPARTURE of former Hawthorn football manager Chris Fagan "rocked" the Hawks, coach Alastair Clarkson admits. 

Fagan left Hawthorn at the end of last season to coach the Brisbane Lions. 

The Hawks reached the second week of finals in 2016 but have struggled this year, notwithstanding their astonishing 14-point win against Adelaide last Thursday at Adelaide Oval. 

They sit 5-8 with a percentage of 79.4.

Clarkson told ABC Radio on Saturday he hadn't expected Fagan to leave the club.

"He was a very experienced mentor at our footy club and a father figure, for the playing and coaching groups," Clarkson said.

"That was the one that came out of left field for us. 

"We're delighted he got the chance because he always had a great appetite to coach, but given his background – he hadn't played the game at senior level and perhaps he thought his coaching days were over because he moved into an administrative role – that was probably the one that rocked us a little bit, because he was such a stable and composed figure for many at our footy club."

The Hawks have experienced four changes in senior positions since 2016, with Richard Garvey (president), Tracey Gaudry (CEO), Jason Burt (football manager) and Jarryd Roughead (captain) assuming key roles.

They have replaced Andrew Newbold (AFL Commission), Stuart Fox (Melbourne Cricket Club CEO), Fagan and Luke Hodge respectively. 

"The biggest problem ... is we just had so much disruption in the space of 12-18 months. You can afford to have one or two coaching or administration staff (leave) but when four of the key pillars of your club all move out within 18 months, it just makes it a bit more difficult," Clarkson said. 

The four-time premiership coach's stance on personnel leaving the club has changed. 

"When I first started out, I was probably a little bit protective of intellectual property going out of your footy club and I think there's a lot of coaches and organisations that are like that. We've changed our attitude to all that, six or eight years ago for the better I think, for our footy club.

"It was actually encouraging our staff and certainly our coaches to have aspirations to coach at the highest level or administer at the highest level. We've helped them grow in their positions and as they grew, then we get the benefit of that growth."