Ross Lyon is out of the race for the vacant Essendon senior coach job, choosing not to take part in the selection process.
The Bombers parted ways with former coach Ben Rutten under unceremonious circumstances in August, following the conclusion of Essendon's sub-par home and away season. Though the club was reportedly chasing the signature of master coach Alastair Clarkson, the four-time Hawthorn premiership coach eventually signed on at Arden Street.
Speaking on Triple M on Wednesday, Lyon revealed that he was contacted by Essendon football boss Josh Mahoney earlier in the week, who outlined the coaching process.
The 55-year-old went on to say that he ruled himself out of the process after the call, instead choosing to continue his work in the media and real estate.
"There was a missed call on Sunday night, checked the message bank, [it’s] Josh Mahoney," Lyon said.
"I just text him and said 'look I’m really busy tomorrow with work… I'll call you after 6:30.'
"So I rang him 6:30 Monday night… off the bat I said 'look I don’t feel it’s the right fit for me, but can you just explain what it is?'
"And he was really good, really simply, they’re gonna have five or six candidates, at least two steps, maybe three, but the first step I wouldn’t be in.
"I think that’s for guys who hadn’t coached before, there’s some hurdles for them to jump, and I think they narrow it down from them.
"The second round would be a couple of hours, two hours with a presentation, how you connect with players sort of, build that relationship…. what your first 30 days would look like.
"I thought about it for an hour and a half and then I just emailed back and said ‘thanks for the call, I have no desire to take it any further'."
Lyon coached both St Kilda and Fremantle to grand final appearances across his time as head coach at the respective clubs. His tenure at the Saints from 2007-2011 saw a period of success in red, black and white, appearing in back-to-back grand finals in 2009 and 2010.
READ: Second club emerges in race for Rutten
Across his eight years at Fremantle, Lyon won 96 games and coached the Dockers to a maiden grand final appearance in 2013, an eventual 15-point loss to Hawthorn.
Lyon, who has pivoted into a role in media after his coaching career, was considered the front runner for the Essendon position after the Bombers revealed they were seeking a candidate with previous experience.
Former North Melbourne senior coach and current general manager of football Brad Scott is also understood to be out of the race at Essendon.
According to 3AW's Sam McClure, Scott also held talks with Mahoney, but remained in favour of his current position at AFL House.
“Josh Mahoney contacted him on Sunday night and Ross said today that he took 90 minutes to decide, and it was no,” McClure reported on Wednesday night.
“My understanding is Josh has had a similar situation with Brad Scott who has made his intentions clear that he wants to stay as head of football at the AFL.
“When David Barham came out on August 28 and said, ‘We think an experienced coach would get the best out of our list’, the first two names you thought of were Ross Lyon and Brad Scott, they’re both now out.”
With Lyon and Scott now ruled out, the six-person panel assigned to find Essendon's next coach, featuring premiership coach Robert Walls and former Hawk Jordan Lewis, are now tasked with making a shortlist prior to conducting interviews.
With important off-season dates like the trade period looming, the Bombers are reportedly hoping to have their next senior coach appointed by AFL grand final day, scheduled for Saturday, September 24.
One of the biggest problems with the game today is that front offices of teams keep recycling coaches. Clarkson’s last three seasons at Hawthorne were a debacle — he was rewarded by taking over a head coach position at North. Brett Ratten’s coaching record has hovered around 50% at every club he’s coached — he was recently rewarded for this anemic record with a 2-year contract extension. Ross lyon basically walked out on St. Kilda (without warning to the club or his agents) then his record at Freemantle was 52%. He then tried to get back in at St. Kilda. Now, he’s being wooed by a team to be head coach. There are other coaches who have lackluster or downright bad records who will be in the mix for open head coaching positions. Front offices need to learn the lesson. The game these coaches coached no longer exists. The game has changed… unfortunately, those being considered to lead teams into the future hasn’t.