Robbie Deans has been sacked as Australia head coach following the Wallabies' Test series defeat to the British & Irish Lions, according to reports in the Australian press.

Ewen McKenzie, the former Test prop who guided the Queensland Reds to the Super Rugby title in 2011, will, reportedly, be unveiled as the new coach today. Deans is said to have been released from his contract six months early following a meeting with Australian Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver.

The Lions' record 41-16 victory over the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday, which secured the tourists a 2-1 Test series triumph, appears to have sealed Deans' fate. The New Zealander took over as head coach after the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He led the Wallabies to third place in the 2011 tournament and to the Tri-Nations title in 2011 but he never delivered the Bledisloe Cup – the trophy presented for series between the Wallabies and New Zealand – and there has been a clamour for the national side to be coached by an Australian.

McKenzie, a World Cup winner with the Wallabies in 1991, was part of the Australia coaching staff under Eddie Jones before taking over as head coach of the NSW Waratahs, Stade Francais and the Reds. The 48-year-old announced in March that he would be standing down from his position with the Reds at the end of the Super Rugby season to pursue a national coaching role. He was linked with the Ireland post before it was filled by Joel Schmidt.

Another high-profile victim of the series was Brian O'Driscoll, the Ireland centre who was excluded from the final Test in favour of Jonathan Davies. Writing in his Daily Telegraph column yesterday, he reflected on his first series win but he could muster only faint praise for his replacement.

The selection caused a storm, particularly in Ireland, with respected former players attacking the New Zealander Gatland for "not understanding the Lions".

While O'Driscoll paid lip service to the "one for all" mantra in his column, he was notably restrained in his praise for Davies.

"I would back myself but there is little between myself and Foxy [Davies]," he wrote. "Foxy had a solid game on Saturday. His left boot really came into play a couple of times. It was a game I might have looked all right in myself but you cannot say.

"It was a massive mix of emotions: delight at being part of this historic moment alongside guys you have battled with but tempered by not playing. It was hard and I'd be lying if I said otherwise," added O'Driscoll.

"You are desperately envious of those who are out there but there is not a sliver of ambiguity about wanting to see the boys win. That is non-negotiable: 100%, you want the team to go well. But thanks be to God, I am a series winner with the British & Irish Lions, albeit it did not finish as I would have liked it to but you cannot write your own script. Other people write it for you."

Gatland believes that the next crop of British & Irish Lions will have what it takes to end a 42-year wait for a Test series victory over New Zealand when the sides meet in four years.

Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Alex Corbisiero, Sam Warburton, Dan Lydiate and Toby Faletau all shone and Gatland expects them to be at the heart of the 2017 touring squad.

Asked if he thought the Lions could win in New Zealand, Gatland said: "Yes, I think if we get things right in terms of the preparation and stuff. If you look at how young this squad is, a lot of them could be around in four years' time.

"If they are playing well enough and you have got four more years' experience on some young heads, some young shoulders and they are in their late 20s, that potentially makes the Lions squad in four years' time incredibly strong. You've always got to believe that when you go somewhere you go there to win.

"I know we talk about 2005 [New Zealand] being disappointing, and for us the motivation in 2009 [South Africa] was about respect and getting respect back for that jersey. The whole focus on this tour was about delivering the Test series win."

Gatland became only the fifth Lions coach in the modern era to mastermind a Test series victory, but he is now only focusing on his return to Wales and taking the reins back from caretaker head coach Robin McBryde and not a possible return in 2017.

"Now that the Lions has finished, I am really excited about what Wales could achieve with the group of players we've got.After that, I will think about my future."