‘A slap in the face’: AFL club does coach dirty

A brutal reality check for a front-running candidate has been exposed within in the shambolic hunt for a new coach at Carlton.

Ross Lyon and Alastair Clarkson. Photo: Getty.

Carlton has inadvertently given Ross Lyon a “slap in the face” after a brutal piece of information emerged this week.

The club’s shambolic hunt for a new coach to replace sacked mentor David Teague took a dramatic turn this week when reported front-runner Lyon pulled out of the race.

The 54-year-old was thought to be a near-certainty to step into the job after Blues president Luke Sayers admitted he had a 45-minute conversation with Lyon the night after Teague’s termination was announced.

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That saga played out while swirling reports surrounded the club’s interest in former Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson.

Clarkson said last month he will be taking a 12-month sabbatical away from the game.

Despite that public statement, reports have continued to claim Clarkson has interest in coaching Carlton and the Blues see him as the preferred candidate for the job.

It has now emerged that the club was only prepared to offer Clarkson the position, while the script has been flipped on Lyon this week with the club announcing it will begin a new exhaustive process to appoint a new coach on the back of a recommendation from a six-person committee.

Alastair Clarkson. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

To make the situation even more brutal for Lyon, reports on Thursday night emerged that the Blues were still hopeful of enticing Clarkson and were prepared to offer him the position, despite the announcement of the committee being formed this week, according to The Herald Sun.

The Age reported Clarkson has enough interest in the position to have conducted an analysis of the club’s roster and now believes he could win a premiership with the Blues.

Footy legend Garry Lyon on Friday said Carlton’s preferential treatment for Clarkson showed the club did not show the same level of respect for Lyon.

“If they then turn around and go to Clarko it’s a slap in the face for Rossy,” Lyon told SEN Breakfast.

“Because they’re saying, we’re going to go through a process, Rossy, unless it’s Clarko.”

Lyon’s withdrawal came less than 24 hours after the Blues announced their decision to undertake a coaching process.

“I’m confident in my abilities,” Lyon told Footy Classifiedon Wednesday.

“I’ve been to two clubs (and made) cultural change, for want of a better term, and (improved) performance.

“It’s very difficult to get a group to give the effort St Kilda and Fremantle have done if you can’t create a dynamic and a chemistry.

Ross Lyon has reportedly pulled out of the race for the head coaching role at Carlton. Picture: Quinn Rooney / Getty Images

“At the end of the day it’s up for people to decide.

“It’s come through my door, I haven’t been out looking for it.”

The opening for the head coaching position at Carlton occurred as a result of an extensive review of the club’s football operations, and Teague was one domino of many to fall as a result of the report.

With a selection committee including three-time premiership coach David Parkin in place, Lyon was intrigued about how the process would work, but insinuated there wasn’t anything set in stone just yet.

“He (Luke Sayers, Carlton president) said we’re finalising (and) putting some finishing touches on, which they’ve clearly done with the panel,” Lyon said.

“Then the other part of that is what the process looks like, because it’s just a word.

“Everyone’s got a process, but what sits within that, the mechanics, what needs to be delivered – that’s what I’m unaware of.

“Then you sit down because I’ve said I’m interested in the process.

“But I’ve got to make sure that I fit the process.”

He clearly did not.

Originally published as ‘A slap in the face’: AFL club does coach dirty