Maybe, just maybe, we now know what it was like the day Ron Barassi ditched Melbourne to become the captain-coach of Carlton.

Not that the parents of young Saints fans are trying to explain to their tearful children what has just happened as they extricate St Kilda jumpers from the rubbish bin. Ross Lyon is the coach, not the star centre half-forward.

But Lyon is front and centre of one of the most extraordinary news days in recent AFL history. Not even a day, really, but just a couple of hours.

By dinner time in Melbourne, word about Mark Harvey's sacking crossed the Nullabor and reached Melbourne. Within another hour or two, Lyon has been tabbed as his replacement.

So many twists and turns.

- Harvey being reportedly pulled out of a list management meeting to be told to clear his desk.

- Lyon's "end of an era" remarks following St Kilda's loss to the Swans last week, which we now have a clearer understanding as it's meaning.

- Lyon's management company, ESP, negotiating a new, four-year deal with St Kilda, only for Lyon to be thrashing out the deal with the Dockers on his own. Not surprisingly, Lyon is now an ex-client of ESP.

- The coaching carousel is now spinning out of control. Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs are close to making their appointments, while the Garry Lyon insisted on The Footy Show that Melbourne's search remains on track. That now leaves the Saints with several weeks of catching up to do.

Harvey is entitled to be shattered. He led the Dockers to the second week of the finals last year, but the side was cruel led by injuries this year. Which might be part of the problem. Whether it was the constant bleating about the injuries or the travel, which wore out his welcome, or a dispute with the medical staff about the injuries, something was amiss for Harvey this year.

At Freo, Lyon inherits a list with pace and skill, has the best ruckman in the league and a fearsome home ground advantage that should guarantee the side eight wins each year.

As for the Saints, as entitled as they should be to feel enraged at the turn of events, need to look at the role they played in all of this.

Chris Pelchen was installed as head of football, over the head of Lyon and without his knowledge. The tawdry events at the end of last season smacked of a lack of professionalism and pride in the club. The players, or at least some of them, aren't entirely blameless. And if Lyon really is one of the best coaches in the caper, how did it get to a situation where he was even tempted to leave?

Five years and three Grand Finals, Lyon and the Saints had a nice run together. From a pure football point of view, perhaps it was time for a change. But it could have been handled so much better.