CRAIG Starcevich has turned his back on an offer to coach Tasmania, inking a three-year extension to remain with Brisbane.

Starcevich says he seriously considered working for the start-up club, but "just love the people and players too much to pry myself away".

The 59-year-old is the longest serving coach in the competition, having been with the Lions since day one and guiding them to premierships in 2021 and 2023.

Despite missing finals for just the second time in his tenure this year, Starcevich says his optimism about the future was a big driver behind his decision.

"At the end of the day, I just couldn't imagine myself anywhere but here," he said.

"I did give some consideration to the new team, just from a build-from-the-ground-up perspective, which is something that really interests me because we've done it once before here.

"I probably just love the people and players here too much to pry myself away.

"I'm really excited for what's coming. We've got an exceptional Academy group coming through in the next couple of years. There are some people showing some interest in coming to us.

"There's a few things that have made the decision a lot easier."

Starcevich said he consulted the team's leadership group to ensure his message was still getting through before signing on the dotted line.

Brisbane has been riddled with injuries this season, entering Saturday's season finale against Carlton on the back of two straight wins to get it to a 4-7 win-loss record.

Starcevich said seeing Melbourne and Geelong miss finals in recent years before returning to the pointy end of the ladder gave him great belief his team could do the same in 2027.

"It's probably not a great time to bail, to be honest," he said.

"There's been a lot of things this year out of our control, but I'm really proud of the group the way they've fought through the five weeks we couldn't get a W. 

"It's been good for them all to see what it's like to have to persevere and get through a rough patch.

"I think the good clubs with the good programs can prevail … I think there's enough going on with our list and what's to come to be optimistic about the future."