The thing at the time that really grinded my gears was the behavior of Terry Wallace, and to a lesser extent Rodney Eade.
Hawthorn had already made a public statement that there were a number of candidates they wanted to interview and would NOT be making a decision until they had exhausted all avenues. In other words, they would not be making a hasty decision, no matter who was available.
In the interim, Wallace was on the radio answering questions as to which club he preferred to coach, as if it was his decision. Finally, the Hawks get around to interviewing Wallace. They show him around, he says he's very impressed, and the VERY NEXT DAY, signs a 5 year deal with Richmond. Not long after that, Eade signs with the Bulldogs and both Wallace and Eade publicly criticize Hawthorn for not committing to them.
My understanding is neither Eade nor Wallace were being considered favourably for the job, Dunstall ruling both out. I think it was Brereton who favoured either Wallace or Eade, but he was out voted. So even though they both said they would have signed with the Hawks had we committed, neither would have got the job anyway.
The media, as is par for the course, ever on the lookout to criticize Hawthorn, jumped in boots and all and began rubbishing the Hawks for our inept management, apparently letting two prime candidates go, etc, etc. In the meantime the Hawks went through the arduous task of interviews.
I recall the night Dunstall announced the new Hawthorn coach on the Footy Show. There was Clarko sitting there, resplendent in his Hawks polo top, Dunstall says, "We are confident we made the right choice". I listened to Clarko and liked what I heard. Of course, the Footy Show boofheads were making light of the whole thing, and the media continued to take pop shots at Hawthorn for taking this unknown when we could have had Wallace (the media's friend).
I had knowledge of Clarko as he coached Central District here in the SANFL for 2 seasons, 2 Grand Finals, 1 flag, then spent time with the Port Adelaide Power in an assistant role. Anyone I knew who had worked with Clarko assured me the Hawks had a very good man to take them forward.
Here we are, 10 years down the track and guess what? As per usual, the Hawks got it right, and the media and the rest of the footy world were wrong. Nothing has changed. One of these days, people will start to realize that the Hawks are the most well organized club in the AFL.