A conversation with footy icon Leigh Matthews has pushed Ross Lyon closer to an AFL coaching comeback.
Lyon has been linked to the Carlton coaching role for next season, amid ongoing doubt over David Teague’s tenure, while Collingwood is yet to lock in Nathan Buckley’s permanent replacement.
Lyon, the former St Kilda and Fremantle boss, said that he had been convinced that he was done with coaching until he spoke with Matthews recently.
“You always loop back to your reference point and they’re very privileged positions,” Lyon told Triple M.
“The Collingwood Football Club, if they reached [out], you would speak to them, but you need to be all-in. It’s an all-in job.
“I ran into Leigh Matthews and it was a really simple conversation at the end of one of our games.
“I’d certainly closed it and I saw Leigh, and Leigh doesn’t talk a lot but he’s very respected, and he said, ‘Mate, you going to coach again?’.
“And I said, ‘Nah I’m done mate’, and he goes, ‘You’re too young, you miss game day, you need to coach again’.
“There’s a lot of noise around you and the narrative and I felt there was some respect there from Leigh and it does stimulate your thinking that you’ve got something to offer and maybe if an opportunity presented, maybe you look.”
Lyon, who has been working as a commentator and analyst, said that he still had the drive to be an AFL coach.
“AFL coaching is a passion. I never found it torturous or a job. To put a team around you and to commit to something and try and build something special is a wonderful feeling,” he said.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
