Coaching great Leigh Matthews says he was “flummoxed” when he heard that Justin Leppitsch has been approach to fill the vacant Football Director role at the club.
Chris Judd will leave the position at the end of 2021, with the Blues great reportedly approaching Leppitsch in recent months to fill the role.
Matthews, who coached Leppitsch at Brisbane, said he was impressing in his current media roles but said he “couldn’t believe” when he heard the Blues had interest in someone who wasn’t a supporter of the club.
“Justin Leppitsch is a very capable person and even more so now (he’s) in the media,” he said on Sportsday.
“When I heard he’d been (asked) about being recruited to go onto the board as Football Director when he hasn’t had any association with Carlton, that flummoxed me and I couldn’t believe I was hearing it.
“Board members are supposed to be people who barrack for the club and they’re more honorary people, I don’t know whether all of a sudden it’s changed and board members may be paid and that would be a fairly new thing.
“Going and recruiting someone who has no association with the club to be football director on the board, that’s going in a very unusual direction.”
Leppitsch is currently working on SEN and AFL Nation after departing Richmond as an assistant coach at the end of last year.
The 45-year-old had been at the Tigers after departing Brisbane as head coach at the end of 2016 after three years in the job.