Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has given his thoughts on Ross Lyon’s curious reason for not pursuing the club’s coaching vacancy.
Lyon pointed to “chemistry” issues and “instability” inside the four walls when asked by McGuire on Footy Classified about whether he was interested in the role.
“If Ed was president of Collingwood it’d be a different story,” Lyon added interestingly.
McGuire, who stressed he had no insight on the Magpies coaching job, said his question to the former Fremantle and St Kilda coach was off the cuff.
“I probably know more about what’s going on at Carlton than Collingwood at the moment. I’ve stepped out. The last thing I’m going to be is hanging around and pulling the strings and ‘is Jeff Browne a proxy for me’, mate I’m out,” he told SEN’s The Captain’s Run.
“This is me talking as a media commentator, not as the former president of Collingwood, but I asked that question without any knowledge. Caroline Wilson and Ross had decided they were going to have the conversation about what was going on.
“I was working on other stories, where the Grand Final was going and what was happening in Tasmania.
“And in the conversation I said ‘hang on, what about Collingwood’ and he said what he said.”
As for Lyon’s reasons for not going after the Magpies coaching role, McGuire gave his thoughts on the rational.
“I look at it and go, the selection committee at Collingwood, Luke Ball is one of them. Now Luke Ball got out of St Kilda to come to Collingwood because he didn’t want to play under Ross Lyon anymore, he’s probably not getting any votes there,” McGuire joked.
“He’s probably looked at it and thought ‘I’m not going to get that gig’.
“He probably looks at what happened to Nathan Buckley and maybe even to me and he says, ‘I’m looking at Carlton’. Maybe he’s got one foot in the Carlton door, I don’t know.
“He barracked for Carlton as a kid, so that’s where it is.
“I’ve got no insight whatsoever as to what his thoughts were in that situation. Having said that, if I was an aspiring coach I’d be heading to Collingwood as fast as I could.”
Lyon has been linked strongly to the Carlton job, despite the role still belonging to David Teague.
The Magpies meanwhile have thoroughly canvassed many candidates in pursuit of their next coach, with Sydney assistant Don Pyke the current betting favourite.