Yes, 6 weeks before the season ended. That's back in July. Then again in September and it was still positive but Brock hadn't accepted it as a done deal yet, then it started changing over the trade period and McKay kept them informed every step of the way.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...chat-with-mick-malthouse-20140914-10gt8k.html
So even though the journo said we had offered a new contract, Brock was optimistic but indicated it wasn't over the line yet. There was also the talk about what we wanted from him next year.
Some here have raised some speculation that some professional standards we were looking for may not apply now. That might make sense if we can now no longer use him in this capacity.
The point is that we had positive talks several weeks prior and when things changed McKay was in charge of the situation. It may be that this was not a Mick decision at all. The list manager phoned Brock to raise the possibility he might not get a contract, they had a heated discussion by Brock's own admission, and the list manager phoned him when the decision was made. What do you think Mick would have added to that scenario, given phone calls weren't being well received and Brock as late as last week had still not made an appearance in person?
I think we don't really know whose call it was, but we do know that McKay was heavily involved in the positive meetings and when things started to change.