Melbourne president Brad Green says it’s time for a “new voice” at the Demons after confirming premiership coach Simon Goodwin has been sacked, with immediate effect and no farewell game, just days after a resounding victory.

The Demons, 12th on the ladder after beating West Coast by 83 points on Saturday, moved Goodwin on despite having a year left to run on his contract, facing the prospect of a $1m payout.

Assistant coach Troy Chaplin will take over for the remainder of the season.

Goodwin steered the Demons to the 2021 premiership but has since failed to win a final. The sudden move left club legend Garry Lyon “stunned”.

“I’m stunned, shocked, totally shocked. Absolutely, just shocked, I can’t get my head around it,” Melbourne legend Garry Lyon said on SEN after hearing the news.

“I thought there would be a long review at the end of this year and then determined whether he could coach out the final year of his contract. Premiership coaches are rare at Melbourne, he’s one of four, he will be a hero of this football club forever and a day, but that obviously doesn’t guarantee tenure. This is a massive call.”

But in a letter to members, Green said the board decided change was needed.

“The board and I came to the decision earlier this week that it is time for a new voice to lead our AFL playing group and program forward,” he wrote.

“Simon has given every ounce of his passion and energy to our club over his 11 years here, and as we look to transition to our next AFL premiership, the board believes that a new senior coach is required to maximise the opportunity ahead of us.

“Obviously, decisions like these are never easy to come to, but ultimately, we have made this decision in the best interests of the football club. While Simon leaves an incredible legacy, it is now time for someone else to take the reins and bring with them new energy and new ideas to revitalise our playing list and program.

“As a club we have confidence in our playing group and what it can achieve. This decision is about ensuring we maximise our potential and put the right person in place to drive us to our next AFL premiership.”

The Demons finished inside the top four twice in as many seasons after their drought-breaking flag but were eliminated in straight sets on both occasions.

Goodwin presented to the board last Monday following Melbourne’s horror loss to St Kilda. The Demons coughed up a record three-quarter-time lead and two goals in the final 10 seconds to lose the match.

On Thursday, Goodwin said the meeting was a routine presentation and denied he was coaching for his career against the Eagles.

“We’re all very aligned about the process of where we need to go to, what we need to create success,” Goodwin said.

“We always knew that in this transition period that there would be challenges, our job is not to get consumed with the noise.

All you can do is be clear with your strategy, clear with your process, understand challenge, be clear about it and go about the process to build the next great team – I feel incredibly supported by the board.”

Goodwin is one of only four coaches to have taken Melbourne to an AFL/VFL premiership in its 167-year history, ending a 57 year drought in 2021.

He coached 203 games and sits behind only Norm Smith (310), Frank Hughes (258) and Neale Daniher (223) for games coached at Melbourne.