St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt fears Ross Lyon may be lost to the AFL coaching world after he pulled out of the running for a senior coaching job for the second straight year.
Lyon revealed on Wednesday he had told Essendon he would not participate in its process to find a new senior coach.
Riewoldt, who played under Lyon for much of his career, said a lack of comprehensive support from some at the Bombers may’ve contributed to his decision.
Watch every match prior to the AFL grand final Live & Ad-Break Free In-Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
“There must’ve been some reluctance from some people internally at Essendon about Ross getting the job,” Riewoldt told AFL 360 Plus.
“So that’s been relayed to Ross and then Ross is an all-in guy.
“If he’s all-in for Essendon, unless they are completely all-in for him then it’s never going to work … if he’s all-in he expects the same of the people he’s going to be working with.”
Riewoldt disputed the notion Lyon would’ve tried to exert too much influence over the Bombers had he been selected for the job, saying, “it would never be a dictatorship with Ross, he never operated that way at St Kilda.:
“He would’ve been terrific for that football club.”
Lyon was last year considered a leading contender in Carlton’s search for its next senior coach, but he eventually withdrew from that hunt, again declaring he wasn’t prepared to go through a process.
“It does sadden me a little bit that he’s not going to be coaching in the immediate future,” Riewoldt said.
“Every time I catch up with him or speak to him or listen to him talk, there’s just a coach there bubbling under the surface.
“Yeah I do (fear he may never coach again). I think the longer you’re out the less likely it is you come back.”
Lyon expanded on his decision to withdraw from the Essendon coaching race during the week on Channel Nine’s Footy Classified.
“It just didn’t feel right. There’s nothing wrong with that, that’s just a personal judgment,” he said.
“It’s not even about going through the process. Ultimately, they’re still going through a lot there and a fair bit came to me from Essendon people that had been in really strong positions and explained the club and the challenges of the club – and I think they‘re still going through that.
“I love what they‘re doing, I think the purge is necessary … But if you look at their history, anyone from the outside – and this is what’s got to change in my view, it doesn’t make it right, but I think there might be some internal views that people have been there – Matty Knights from the outside didn’t work, John Worsfold – even when they made finals there were noises about John – and then Rutten.
“So it‘s like an organ transplant, after two years you get rejected. I think they’ve got to get a head around an outsider of Essendon coming through. That would be something that was put to me – and I think when it’s put to you, I think that’s a reasonable assessment.”
