Legendary coach Allan 'Yabby' Jeans, an inaugural member of the AFL's Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 77.
Jeans is revered at both St Kilda and Hawthorn for his deeds at those clubs as senior coach.
He guided the Saints to their first and only flag in 1966 and then took the Hawks to three premierships in the 1980s.
Jeans' legacy extends beyond what he himself achieved as a coach though with several of his former players going on to enjoy success as coaches in their own right.
Four-time premiership coach Leigh Matthews and triple-premiership coach Mick Malthouse are among his former charges along with current Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade and Gary Ayres, the dual Norm Smith Medallist who went on to take Geelong to the 1995 Grand Final.
Dermott Brereton, who played in all three premierships under Jeans at Hawthorn, led the tributes on Wednesday morning.
"It's a really sad thing when someone who has had such a profound effect on your life says goodbye to you, you know it's going to be the last time," Brereton told SEN.
"I told him everything I always wanted to tell him like you wanted to tell your dad before it's too late."
"I told him that from 15 years of age I heard his voice more than my own father's for the next 10-12 years for five, six days a week."
"And 90 percent of it was not about football. It was about life and how you conducted yourself."
"You get some people who coach and they turn you into good footballers, if Allan Jeans saw the right person he would try and turn them into the right person before he would try and turn them into the right footballer."
"The most morally sound man I have ever come across. I have met three great people in football and he's one of them."
"There was so much respect for him. He could motivate you to do stuff what you didn't think yourself or your body was capable of doing. There's a lot of guys out there who have lost a dad today."
After playing 77 matches for St Kilda in the 1950s, booting 27 goals, Jeans took over as coach of the club in 1961, two years after his retirement.
In 16 years at Moorabbin Jeans took the Saints to three grand finals - in 1965, '66 and '71 - and of course the club's famous one-point win over the Magpies in '66.
But after 332 games including 193 wins and a draw with St Kilda, Jeans walked away citing burnout.
Five years later and he was back in charge at Hawthorn for the 1981 season and he took the club to six grand finals in 10 seasons, winning premierships in 1983, '86 and '89.
Perhaps the most remarkable of them was the last which came after he had been forced by ill health to take the 1988 season off and leave the club in the hands of Allan Joyce.
In 221 games as coach of the Hawks Jeans enjoyed 159 wins and a draw.
After a year off he took over at Richmond for one final season but managed only five wins from 22 games.
Overall, Jeans' coaching record was four premierships from nine grand final appearances with 357 wins, two draws and 216 losses from 575 matches.