The need for "bold change" was the catalyst for Hawthorn to hire coach Alastair Clarkson some 10 years ago.

Clarkson was rated only an outside chance when Hawthorn started searching for a new senior coach in 2004.

Not only was he untried and relatively unknown, but he lacked something else – the brown and gold ticket.

Not since the legendary Allan Jeans took over in 1981 had Hawthorn plucked a senior coach from outside its ranks.

Clarkson, then an assistant at Port Adelaide, never played for the Hawks and was competing for the job against three premiership players.

The Hawks faithful expected Terry Wallace or Rodney Eade to be saddled with the task of rebuilding the struggling club, while Gary Ayres was also in the running.

But Hawthorn needed a new direction, according to then-caretaker CEO Jason Dunstall.

The champion full-forward headed up the search for Peter Schwab's replacement and was convinced that bold change was necessary.

"I think we needed to take a different tack because we'd always done it the old Hawthorn way," Dunstall told the AFL Record.

"So I think it was important to look outside of that. He came in and it's fair to say he had very strong ideas about certain things – attention to detail and standards that needed to be set."

The Hawks made an unexpected but calculated call on Clarkson and – 10 seasons on – that decision has proved a masterstroke.

The ex-North Melbourne and Melbourne midfielder is on target to become Hawthorn's longest-serving coach. In round 10 this year – against his former club Port – Clarkson surpassed Jeans' 221 games and climbed into second spot on that list.

When his contract expires at the end of 2016, Clarkson will be within range of the immortal John Kennedy's club-record 299 games.

His winning record compares favourably with the two coaching greats. The late Jeans enjoyed a formidable 74 per cent success rate during Hawthorn's golden era.

Kennedy and Clarkson – despite the rocky road early in his tenure – boast 61 per cent winning records.

In a month's time, he could join them as a triple-premiership Hawthorn coach.

Read the full Alastair Clarkson feature in the round 23 edition of the AFL Record, which is available at all grounds.