St Kilda signed former coach Brett Ratten to a two-year contract extension in July of 2022 before he was sacked in October of the same year.
That paved the way for Ross Lyon to return to the helm as coach for season 2023 and beyond.
Just four months ago, senior football administrator Geoff Walsh was appointed to the role of head of football.
On Monday he stepped down, citing changes to his family situation. We are all hoping it isn’t anything too serious and our thoughts are with him and his family.
Walsh was a part of the panel who appointed Lyon and he made an instant impact when speaking to the media. He speaks with authority and there is a no-nonsense tone that wins respect from intelligent football fans.
“One of the things I can bring to the table is the willingness to make a hard call or to have a hard conversation,” Walsh said on SEN Breakfast in October last year.
“This might sound abrasive and Saints fans might get upset, but one of the things that I think when asked about how do I see St Kilda, I think the competition would say there’s been a degree of irrelevance.
“That should be abrasive. That should choke down people’s throats and I hope that going forward I can contribute to a profile that gives the Saints the due respect that they crave.
“To not walk past something if you see it and you know it’s wrong, I’m willing to call it out.
Ratten wasn’t the only casualty of the sweeping review. Head of list management James Gallagher was also let go.
In better news, Lyon’s friend and former colleague Stephen Silvagni was predictably appointed to that role over the weekend.
Lyon would never have imagined the carnage that was set to challenge him before a game had even been won or lost.
St Kilda opens its season against Fremantle in just 47 days’ time, and to be brutally honest, it is a club that is mightily unsettled.
Lyon is an experienced coach but he hasn’t sat behind the glass since 2019.
He’s overhauled his entire coaching staff who would be searching for chemistry and a collaborative game plan.
He’s got a new list manager who was set to report to the head of football who has just walked out.
On top of that, the club’s best player Max King ruined his shoulder in an innocuous training mishap.
In his time in the media Lyon often admired the clubs that had rock solid football programs and personnel.
“It’s not about the list, it’s about getting the right people to create a way of being and doing,” Lyon said.
“And the results follow.
“So it’s not about the list. Everyone goes, ‘where’s the list at?’. I think if you get the right people - it’s like what (Alastair) Clarkson’s doing at North - and you back yourself in to get it right.”
Contrast the events at the Saints with that of Collingwood who on Monday unveiled successful businessman and favourite son Craig Kelly as its CEO.
Graham Wright will head up the football department. Impressive second-year coach Craig McRae will be supported by experienced former head coaches Brendon Bolton and Justin Leppitsch.
The Magpies are rock solid.
As are Geelong. They have shown it’s not just players that win premierships, it’s clubs.
All key off-field leadership positions need to be filled by the absolute best.
Lyon could never have imagined that his side would be searching for a new head of football just seven weeks out from the start of the season.
Sometimes, that’s how footy works.