Ross Lyon has revealed what happened behind the scenes that led to him pulling out of the Carlton coaching race last Thursday.
Lyon was the former frontrunner to win the job, and despite admitting interest and conversations with Blues President Luke Sayers as recent as the night before, the former Fremantle coach backflipped and withdrew from the process late last week.
He admitted he still doesn’t completely grasp the situation at the club.
“It feels like a lifetime ago, a week is a long time in footy,” Lyon told Channel 9’s Footy Classified.
“Even I haven’t got both sides of the fence fully.
“The only person who has everything is Luke Sayers because he knows my position and his board’s position.”
While affirming he didn’t feel let down by the Blues or the way the situation had unfolded, Lyon did reveal that he caught the newly appointed president “by surprise” when informing him of the decision.
“I asked Luke on the day before for clarity on the sub-committee and the process, I woke up (on Thursday) I reflected on all the conversations and what was happening in the media and I said ‘I’m out,’” he said.
“Which took Luke a bit by surprise, but that’s fine.”
Lyon’s withdrawal came just days after Carlton and Sayers began a process and a coaching sub-committee to find their next coach.
Some media were of the understanding Lyon refused to go through a process and was originally promised the job, however, the former coach said those beliefs weren’t entirely true.
“None of that’s completely accurate, but I’ll take what I know with me and leave it at that,” he said.
“I made no assumptions, there were no promises made.
“I certainly have no regrets on anything.”
Carlton are now said to be interested in Brad Scott to be their head coach in 2022.