St Kilda's new AFL coach got the call for the head coach's job he coveted late on Tuesday night.
Just hours after he declared he wasn't interested in applying to coach the Saints, he backflipped – after being effectively promised the top job he had spent more than 10 years preparing for.
"It's an incredible honour … it's been my aspiration to coach my own team for close on 10 to 12 years now," he said as he was unveiled at St Kilda's new coach on Thursday.
"To finally get that opportunity is something I'm very excited about."
Richardson had been director of coaching at Port Adelaide, following several stints as an assistant at the Western Bulldogs, Collingwood, Essendon and Carlton.
Always highly rated, he had been in the frame for several head coaching roles – including St Kilda two years ago – but had never been chosen for a top job.
But Richardson's ascent to the St Kilda role only came after Port chairman David Koch used his breakfast television program to play hardball with the Saints.
An aggrieved Koch threatened to block Richardson's move, and negotiations dragged on throughout the day before St Kilda agreed to cover some of the costs in replacing Richardson, who had two more years to run on his Port contract.
"It's not a significant amount," new Saints president Peter Summers said.
"We recognise that Alan's decision has an impact on the Port Adelaide football club … we've reached an agreement where we will contribute some amount to help them find their replacement for Alan."
Richardson has agreed a three-year deal with the Saints.
He has promised to improve a Saints side which finished third from bottom last season, with just five wins before Scott Watters' sacking a fortnight ago.
"Culturally we want to make sure we're a really competitive, aggressive and hard-working footy team,'' Richardson said.