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.
“𝑰𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔’ 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈-𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓-𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒍,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅. “𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒐𝒏’𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝑩𝑬𝑶𝑵 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍-𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 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.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒏 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔,” 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑰’𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅-𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕.”
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.
“𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑,” 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒆’𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 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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