Melbourne great Garry Lyon has proposed a bold option at the Carlton Football Club for the remainder of 2026, should head coach Michael Voss’ tenure be cut short before the end of the season.
External pressure on Voss, whose Blues are currently sitting 1-7 and just percentage away from the bottom of the ladder, has reached a new apex at the conclusion of Round 8 after conceding yet another half time lead in their 39-point loss to St Kilda last Saturday.
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Out of contract at season’s end and amid a six-game losing streak, some critics have suggested they believe the club should look elsewhere for a new head coach.
Speaking on Fox Footy AFL 360, Lyon spoke to the frustrations many Blues fans feel more broadly with the playing group, who have now lost five matches this season despite holding a lead at the main break.
“The toughest job is to front up and try to put a different spin on it. He was much more pointy-end in his press conference (last) weekend, because I think he’d had a gutful,” Lyon said on Monday night.
“We can sit here and pontificate and ‘work it out’. All those numbers that got thrown around over the weekend, they’re all absolutely true.
“Inevitably, it’s leading us to one conclusion, which is not something I find palatable at all. But, I think that’s where they’ve got to go.”
Carlton slammed for ‘same old story’ | 05:47
Host Gerard Whateley added: “The failure of leader (on-field) … they clearly talk about it, they plan for it, and then are hit by a paralysis when the moment arrives, which is unusual in sport.
“Sport is typically defined by: ‘I will conquer this, I will conquer this’ … their breaking point arrived before they even lost the lead on Saturday night.
“There is now no conceivable path to (Voss) winning the next contract, that’s where they are at 1-7.”
“That’s when it gets to the terminal stage. That’s when your club is almost in a death spiral,” Lyon responded.
While criticism has come thick and fast towards Voss in the last 12 months, the idea of life without him at Carlton would still remain very murky.
Veteran AFL coaches who have recently moved on from the top job at rival clubs include Nathan Buckley (Collingwood/Geelong), John Longmire (Sydney), Ken Hinkley (Port Adelaide) and Adam Simpson (West Coast); though none of the quartet have indicated their desire to jump back into the hot seat — or in Buckley’s case, at least not with any of the 18 active AFL teams.
Lewis raises alarm on Carlton’s list | 02:24
It leads Lyon to believe Carlton has three options on the table — as well as a left-field fourth alternative with 2018 premiership coach Simpson.
“The first option is ‘do nothing’ … that’s just unpalatable on every level. You can’t afford to do that, because the fans are walking out and sponsors (will),” Lyon said.
“The next thing is to move on Michael, and coach until the end of the season. That doesn’t work, we’ve seen that over the years. Peter Schwab tried it, Tony Shaw might’ve tried it (but) once you make a decision, you make a decision.
“(Thirdly), appointing one of the assistants who’s there … you’ll get some freedom. The weight will lift halfway if one of the assistants comes over. I suspect that might make a difference.
“Then, you’ve got to think outside the square. Our man’s not going to enjoy this, but go and appoint Adam Simpson … he doesn’t want to coach, he’s said he doesn’t want to coach. But, for the next 12 weeks, you appoint him and say: ‘You’ve got ‘carte blanche’ (blank document), you do whatever you want for his 12 weeks.
“He’s got unbelievable strength that we see in the media that he can go and teach them; particularly from stoppage and all that sort of stuff. Then, let the other coaches coach. Throw the team around … the weight would come off (the group) straight away.”
“I don’t think Adam would do that by the way, so you would probably end up with one of the assistants.”
Simpson currently works as a part-time coaching consultant and mentor to Voss, and supports the coaching staff with an external perspective on development and strategy.
The 50-year-old has recently vehemently rejected the idea of succeeding Voss in any instance he was sacked.
“There’s a balance I think between spending too long in caretaker mode, or wasting two-thirds of the season. Can they collectively in this set up still strive for anything and make games?” Whateley added.
“What we heard from Voss on Saturday night is absolutely what he’s preaching, and it’s not getting any sort of response. It’s not the ‘what’ – the what is dead obvious. It’s the ‘why’ and ‘how’ that’s elusive to the group.”
Speaking on Fox Footy’s On The Couch, four-time premiership player Jordan Lewis flagged the moment he believes spoke volumes of the Carlton playing group in recent times, as their second-half fade-outs continue to amaze fans and pundits alike.
Additionally, the 319-gamer believed just one player could hold his head high by the full time siren.
“It’s groundhog day, isn’t it? The whole football world knows and watches closely at half time with what will happen. Week after week, you probably watch it a little bit closer and you’re looking for the actions of players … and the players haven’t helped themselves,” Lewis said.
“On the weekend, you could probably say one player — Sam Walsh — looked like he was trying and not confused. Unfortunately for this football club, they find themselves in the same position after leading at half time.”
“Are they not fit enough? You watch that, and you can question their fitness. I do anyway, because when good sides are on top of the game, one they’re defensively running hard enough. But two, their skill level stays at a certain level under fatigue.
“I think their fatigue is affecting the way they think, their decision making, and the way that they execute.”
Carlton will make the tough trip up to the Gabba for a Friday night duel with Voss’ former side and back-to-back reigning premiers Brisbane.
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