The Dragons had showed some glimpses of hope throughout the back end of 2025, defeating Canberra and Cronulla in consecutive weeks and pushing the NZ Warriors for 80 minutes, but have struggled to be competitive since taking the Canterbury Bulldogs to golden point in Las Vegas earlier this year.
With the Dragons amongst the pre-season wooden spoon favourites, Flanagan has had to contend with open speculation about his jobs for weeks as the club continues to concede heavy scores, going for 46 (v Melbourne), 30 (v Parramatta), 32 (v NQ Cowboys) and 30 against the Rabbitohs to be on the bottom of the ladder with a points differential of -105.
Flanagan has looked a tired and somewhat defeated figure at post-match press conferences more recently as the questions about his job security continued to be fired his way.
“Of course it puts pressure on. It puts me and the club under pressure,” he said after their weekend loss to the Rabbitohs.
“We’re not winning footy games and I understand that. It’s a business of winning and we’re not winning."
“I get to work every day and all I can do is do my best to prepare the players the best I can, and if it doesn’t work and they decide to make another decision, well I’ve just got to live with it.”
The players were reportedly not aware of Sunday's decision to sack Flanagan when reporting to headquarters on Monday morning for training, but an extraordinary press conference on Monday morning saw Chairman Andrew Lancaster and CEO Tim Watsford face the media at the Dragons' brand new high performance centre to confirm Flanagan's sacking.
The 2016 Premiership-winning coach won just 19 of his 55 games in charge of one of the oldest average age squads in the competition, with senior players such as co-captains Clint Gutherson and Damien Cook passionately backing Flanagan in the last seven days and taking responsibility for the team's lengthy winless run.
"I want to begin by confirming that head coach Shane Flanagan and Head of Football Ben Haran have departed the club by way of mutual agreement," Watsford said on Monday morning.
"Shane and Ben have worked hard for the club and I want to thank them for their professionalism and their commitment during their time here.
"We understand the disappointment and frustration that our fans feel. We know the standards expected of our football club and know we are not meeting them."
Watsford and Lancaster had not yet appointed an interim head coach at the time of the press conference but discussions are to be held on Monday to appoint a caretaker to take charge of preparations for the Dragons' Anzac Day game against the Sydney Roosters.
Lancaster was asked by reporters to "justify" extending Flanagan on an additional two-year contract in August 2025 and hinted that Flanagan's wellbeing was at the forefront of the decision to let him go.
"As a club and an employer, there is a duty of care not just to the club and its supporters but to its employees," he said.
"A lot of what has transpired over the last week, the conversations we have had over the past week, have been in relation to that.
"The impacts of the noise in the media and social media have not been great."
The club has continued to "wrap our arms around" both Shane Flanagan and his son Kyle, who is contracted with the Dragons through to the end of 2027.
"The impacts of the noise in the media and social media have not been great," Lancaster said of the constant speculation about Flanagan's job.
"There were some personal agendas being dealt with along the way."