Legendary former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has officially stepped down as head coach of the San Francisco Unicorns ahead of the fourth edition of the Major League Cricket (MLC). The 44-year-old guided the franchise through its first three seasons, from 2023 to 2025, helping establish the team as a competitive force in the growing league.

Franchise Confirms Departure Amid Shift to Full-Time Coaching Model

The San Francisco Unicorns confirmed Shane Watson’s exit through an official statement but did not reveal his replacement. The franchise explained that it is transitioning to a year-round coaching structure, a commitment Watson could not accommodate due to his other professional responsibilities.

β€œπ‘°π’ 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 π’”π’•π’“π’†π’π’ˆπ’•π’‰π’†π’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π‘Όπ’π’Šπ’„π’π’“π’π’”β€™ π’π’π’π’ˆ-π’•π’†π’“π’Ž π’”π’•π’“π’‚π’•π’†π’ˆπ’š, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’π’“π’ˆπ’‚π’π’Šπ’›π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’ π’Šπ’” π’”π’‰π’Šπ’‡π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 π’šπ’†π’‚π’“-𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 π’„π’π’‚π’„π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’Žπ’π’…π’†π’,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’”π’•π’‚π’•π’†π’Žπ’†π’π’• 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅. β€œπ‘Ύπ’‚π’•π’”π’π’β€™π’” π’π’π’ˆπ’π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’„π’π’Žπ’Žπ’†π’π’•π’‚π’“π’š π’…π’–π’•π’Šπ’†π’” 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’“π’‚π’‘π’Šπ’… π’ˆπ’“π’π’˜π’•π’‰ 𝒐𝒇 π’‰π’Šπ’” π’‘π’†π’“π’‡π’π’“π’Žπ’‚π’π’„π’† π’„π’π’‚π’„π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝑩𝑬𝑢𝑡 π‘·π’†π’“π’‡π’π’“π’Žπ’‚π’π’„π’†, 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 π’‰π’Šπ’Ž π’‡π’“π’π’Ž π’•π’‚π’Œπ’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍-π’•π’Šπ’Žπ’† 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆.”

Shane Watson’s tenure saw its share of highs and lows. In the inaugural 2023 MLC season, the Unicorns finished fifth, just above the Los Angeles Knight Riders. However, under Watson’s guidance, they made a remarkable comeback, reaching the playoffs in both 2024 and 2025, even finishing runners-up in 2024 after losing to Washington Freedom in the final.

Watson Reflects on His Journey with Gratitude

Reflecting on his time with the team, Watson expressed immense pride and appreciation for the opportunity to coach at the MLC.

β€œπ‘°π’• 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 π’‘π’“π’Šπ’—π’Šπ’π’†π’ˆπ’† 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒏 π‘­π’“π’‚π’π’„π’Šπ’”π’„π’ π‘Όπ’π’Šπ’„π’π’“π’π’” 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔,” 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒐𝒏 π’”π’‚π’Šπ’…. β€œπ‘°β€™π’Ž 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒐𝒇 π’˜π’‰π’‚π’• π’˜π’† π’‚π’„π’„π’π’Žπ’‘π’π’Šπ’”π’‰π’†π’… 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’ˆπ’“π’‚π’•π’†π’‡π’–π’ 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 π’˜π’π’“π’Œ π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ π’˜π’π’“π’π’…-𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’Šπ’π’„π’“π’†π’…π’Šπ’ƒπ’π’† π’šπ’π’–π’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 π’Šπ’ 𝑴𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓 π‘³π’†π’‚π’ˆπ’–π’† π‘ͺπ’“π’Šπ’„π’Œπ’†π’•.”

Franchise Thanks Shane Watson for His Contributions

Unicorns CEO David White paid tribute to Watson’s contributions, acknowledging his vital role in shaping the team’s foundation and competitive identity.

β€œπ‘Ίπ’‰π’‚π’π’† π’˜π’‚π’” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 π’„π’‰π’π’Šπ’„π’† 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 π’‡π’Šπ’“π’”π’• 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅 π‘ͺ𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’†π’… 𝒂 π’Œπ’†π’š 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆 π’Šπ’ π’ƒπ’–π’Šπ’π’…π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π‘Όπ’π’Šπ’„π’π’“π’π’” π’‡π’“π’π’Ž 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’ˆπ’“π’π’–π’π’… 𝒖𝒑,” π‘Ύπ’‰π’Šπ’•π’† 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅. β€œπ‘Ύπ’† 𝒂𝒓𝒆 π’†π’•π’†π’“π’π’‚π’π’π’š π’ˆπ’“π’‚π’•π’†π’‡π’–π’ 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒆’𝒔 π’…π’†π’…π’Šπ’„π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’ 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 π’‰π’Šπ’” 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔 π’Šπ’ π’„π’‰π’‚π’“π’ˆπ’†, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’˜π’† π’˜π’Šπ’”π’‰ π’‰π’Šπ’Ž π’†π’—π’†π’“π’š 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 π’Šπ’ π’‰π’Šπ’” 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔.”

Watson now shifts focus toward his growing commitments in cricket commentary and his performance coaching venture, as the Unicorns prepare for a new era under a fresh leadership model.

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