The saddest part of Michael Voss' demise as Carlton coach is there's so much to like about him.

As a player, as a human, as a club front man, he ticks every box.

Two years ago, Voss made a citizen's arrest outside his local coffee shop. The apprehended teen had the good sense to calm down quickly once one of the toughest players in AFL history had nabbed him.

Also typical of Voss, he then undertook a mentoring role with the youngster.

On Tuesday, Blues president Rob Priestley said the fact the coach's departure was a mutual decision reflected on Voss as a quality individual.

But in the brutal realm of elite sport coaching, your history and your character will take you only some of the way.

"He left with a fantastic message for both players and staff."- Blues GM of footy Chris Davies on Michael Voss.Watch Carlton's press conference LIVE: https://t.co/4gpuA0kFIi pic.twitter.com/g5AdLadF8p— AFL (@AFL) May 12, 2026

No Brownlow Medallist has coached a side to an AFL premiership this century.

In the end, it comes down to two questions - do you have the players on side? And can you help them win?

At Tuesday's media conference, Blues hierarchy pointed to last Friday's encouraging second-half comeback against Brisbane. Voss still had the players on side.

But an eight-game losing streak, on the back of missing the finals last season, also tells its own story.

Way back in 1991, when Neil Craig was starting his football coaching career, he said until he was in the hot seat there was no way of knowing how he'd perform. Never a truer word has been said about senior coaching.

Journalists chuckled when Craig McRae introduced himself at his early Collingwood media conferences. This smiling, likeable rookie coach wouldn't last long.

That was a premiership and two preliminary finals ago. Likewise, everyone's favourite grandad Chris Fagan would appear to have some idea of the coaching craft.

After Voss's first stint as senior coach at the club where he made his name - Brisbane - ended badly, he played it perfectly.

He spent time as an assistant under Ken Hinkley at Port Adelaide. Lessons were learned, the Power made finals and his reputation was rebuilt.

Carlton football boss Chris Davies met Voss at Port Adelaide more than a decade ago. Several times on Tuesday, he also spoke glowingly about him.

"Michael has been an amazingly stoic person. He has represented every club he has ever been at phenomenally well," Davies said.

"He is diligent, he ... wants to be good as his craft. I saw a guy who came to Port Adelaide at the time, who wanted to get back into senior coaching, and he did really well to position himself for this job."

Taking that second chance in 2022, Voss coached Carlton to the preliminary final in his second season.

But just as quickly as the Blues rose, they fell back down again.

So last Friday, before the Lions game, Voss and Davies sat down for another chat and the decision was made.

Tactically, Voss was questionable and this was summed up terribly last month in their Gather Round loss to Adelaide.

After an excellent first term, Carlton started the second quarter with captain Patrick Cripps on the bench. By the time Cripps was back on the field five minutes later, Adelaide had kicked away and the game was over.

Mentions were made by Blues officials in Tuesday's media conference about problems with Carlton's transition play and disposal efficiency.

Voss wasn't helped by three key departures at the end of last season - Charlie Curnow, Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni.

It was also glaring that from early in 2025, practically every senior position at Carlton changed for a variety of reasons - president, chief executive and head of football, plus six assistant coaches.

By the start of this season, Voss was the only figurehead still there. He needed a strong start and instead, he left on the back of eight straight defeats.

That leaves Carlton moribund again, with Tasmania and their rich draft concessions looming large in the near future.

Time and again this century, the Blues have pulled the wrong lever in choosing their new coach. Their new regime would want to get this one right.