Brisbane leaders said without a thorough coaching process, it wouldn't do the club justice, despite Lions assistant coach Cameron Bruce eventually winning the vacant position.
Bruce had the inside lane in the race to become Chris Fagan's successor after the champion coach walked away after 10 years and three consecutive premierships.
The former Melbourne and Hawthorn player had spent the past five years alongside Fagan, and was against Adam Simpson, Nathan Buckley and Hayden Skipworth.
With the process taking longer than a month, Bruce, who was deemed a very heavy favourite, was eventually appointed.
"I might comment on why it was important to have a process," Brisbane chairman Andrew Wellington said.
"We recognised that we are in a good spot, but we also recognised we've got to keep improving, and we felt we weren't doing anyone justice - the club, Cam, our supporters - if we didn't make sure we searched widely to find the right person."
Lions Chief Executive Sam Graham provided more context around the presentations, and why Bruce stood out from the other candidates.
"It was a thorough process. We spoke to a number of candidates over a number of meetings," Graham said.
"There was a lot of interest in the role. We were up front that Cam was an internal candidate and had a bit of a head start and would be a very worthy candidate for the role. But we had an open mind.
"It was narrowed down. We had a final number of candidates present. To that, it was the panel's decision; obviously, the board set out to go about a process, we put a panel in place, and the panel was involved, and it was a unanimous decision to appoint Cam and recommend that to the board."
Graham insisted the players' support of Bruce throughout the process played no part in the panel's decision, whilst noting the close working relationship with football boss Danny Daly played a "critical" part in the recommendation to the board.
"It's not a player's decision. It was the panel that made that decision. However, we do know, and throughout different inputs throughout the process, the players are very supportive and really excited for Cam to come into this role," he said.
"Throughout the process, Cam did really well. In the final presentation, his presentation itself, some of his depth of understanding across the broader club, and how he's going to evolve the program whilst building on the legacy that Chris Fagan's left and the environment.
"Working really closely with Danny Daly, an incredibly experienced leader of our football club and Cam and Danny's relationship was really critical to that.
"In the end, Cam really stood out for us to be the right person to take us forward."
