Melbourne is set to announce its next chief executive officer as soon as Wednesday, with sacked boss Paul Guerra breaking his silence on Tuesday night.
Guerra, who was reportedly “completely blindsided” by the board’s decision, was just seven months into the role before being given his marching orders.
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It marks the fifth Melbourne leadership departure in the past 18 months, with Guerra joining Gary Pert, Simon Goodwin, Brad Green and Kate Roffey in leaving recently.
Demons great and former captain Garry Lyon shared his intel on the situation on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“It was such a shocking surprise to me,” Lyon began on Tuesday night.
“When your footy club is 5-2 against all odds and expectations, and things appear, on the surface, to be going well on-field — I guess you never know what’s going on off-field.
“It’s swift, and it’s decisive … there was a general, I’m told, loss of confidence in Paul. There was a genuine breakdown with the board, and in the end, it was a unanimous board decision.
“In the end, it was suggested that it wasn’t the right fit.”
Lyon then revealed the timeline for Melbourne’s next CEO appointment.
“(Cook) will take the reins for, I believe, three or four months in the interim, until such time as the new CEO is appointed,” Lyon said.
“And as I sit here tonight, I understand that will be as early as tomorrow. They have someone in their sights.
“Brian Cook will hold that role whilst this person that they’re going to appoint clears the decks from whatever role they are involved in. Decisive and swift.”
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Co-host Gerard Whateley shared what he knew about the situation.
“The suggestion is that he went against board instructions on numerous occasions,” Whateley said of Guerra.
“He would stray into areas, publicly and privately, that he was not only not authorised, but he had been instructed not to.
“And that the work, to the board’s view, wasn’t satisfactory, and it wasn’t comprehensive, and then in there, whether there’s a clash of personalities.”
In the evening, Guerra broke his silence on the board’s decision to relieve him of his duties.
“It’s been a challenging day … I’m puzzled by the decision made by the board today.
“I’m really proud of the team that we’ve put together in a really short period of time, and I’m really proud of the role that I’ve played in the success of the club.
“I have engaged lawyers, and there’s not much more I can say at this point.”
Midweek Tackle’s Scott Gullan said on Tuesday night that a payout of “up to $500,000” is coming Guerra’s way.
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Seven’s Tom Morris reported on Tuesday night that players and staff were “in the dark” as to why Guerra was dismissed, adding: “When quizzed at a players meeting today, president Steven Smith was unable to provide a clear answer.
“Guerra was completely blindsided, having lost the support of Smith and his directors in recent times, with breakdowns in relationships leading to the board’s unanimous decision.”
Lyon added: “Unless you’re on the inside, you can’t purport to understand exactly the reasoning behind all that, other than they are real.
“This has been decisive, it’s been unanimous, and a decision has been made really swiftly.
“They’ve made decisions recently that have caught a lot of people by surprise, but the strength of their convictions has seen Simon Goodwin depart, and what appears to have been a really good decision made in (appointing) Steven King.
“They’re backing themselves in to have made a similarly good decision here.
“In the end, if your board unanimously agrees that this is not the right path to go, then you pull the bandaid off quickly, and you move on, and that’s what’s happened here.”
On-field, Melbourne looks to continue its hot start to the year when it travels to face a daunting Sydney side on Sunday afternoon.
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