St Kilda CEO Simon Lethlean will depart the club today, according to Tom Morris.
The club is suggesting the departure is mutual, but Morris believes there may be more to the story.
“It’s mutual, but like we all know, there’s ‘mutual’ and there’s ‘mutual’,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“I think we all know that there has been so many changes at St Kilda in the last 24 months and I reckon there is more to the story.
“The official line is that it is mutual and Lethlean will depart effective immediately today.”
Caroline Wilson reported in 2023 that the relationship between Lethlean and Saints coach Ross Lyon was disharmonious.
Morris says that the two key members of the club had little to no relationship.
“My understanding of the situation is that Ross Lyon and Simon Lethlean didn’t butt heads, they just didn’t have much of a relationship,” Morris said.
“They didn’t really cross paths or work together too closely.
“It depends on what sort of relationship you want your coach and your CEO to have. I think a collaborative one where they’re constantly talking and constantly debating and communicating, that wasn’t this relationship.
“That wasn’t to say they disliked each other, there just wasn’t much there between these two.
“I’ve got no doubt that Ross Lyon put his stamp on the clubs in his number of ways. Nick Walsh, the fitness boss, he departed last year, Jarryd Roughead and Chris Toce, two recruiters and list management officials have departed, the whole medical team has been cleaned out.
“This is not to say Ross has done all of that, but as soon as Ross comes in there’s a lot of people who leave for varying circumstances and Lethlean is the latest one.”
SEN's Sam Edmund added: “There wouldn’t have been many, if any, AFL CEOs who have had less to do with their football department as Lethlean did at St Kilda and I think that was a part of the problem that had festered for a bit of time, perhaps at Ross’ instigation.”
Lethlean took the vacant CEO position at the Saints in 2022.