It took Carlton literally decades to understand that its historical penchant for brutal knee-jerk responses and quick fixes was no longer the path to success in a contemporary AFL climate.
The Blues have drummed into their psyche those lessons of the past, this year even enshrining them in the motto "Stronger Together".
How ironic then, that more than perhaps any other time in the past 30 years, now is the moment the Blues actually could be forgiven for reverting to type. And by that, yes, we mean sacking another coach.
Given the delicate subject matter, I'll nail my colours to the mast early here. I'm not sure the removal of Michael Voss as coach would necessarily make that much difference to Carlton's on-field fortunes. But unlike often in these cases, I could certainly understand the Blues thinking it might.
Why? Because the consistency of Carlton's inconsistency, from season to season, week to week, even quarter to quarter has gone on long enough now to suggest that arguably the most fundamental objective of coaching -- to elicit the best from the materials at hand -- is in Carlton and Voss' case not being met.
And if you do believe Carlton has the talent to be pushing for at worst a top four position and thus is badly underperformed (and I'm not in that camp) that makes the argument for sacking Voss compelling
If you're a Blues fan, you know the story. 2022? Won eight out of 10, then loss-win for eight weeks, then four losses in a row to miss the eight. 2023? Just four wins from 13 games, then 11 wins from 13 including two finals, finishing only 17 points short of a grand final berth. Last year? Eleven wins from 15 and second on ladder then seven defeats from the last nine.
This season, those extremes have been played out from half to half, quarter to quarter, on Saturday Carlton managing as many goals in the final term as for the previous three.
Scoring? In 2023, Carlton was an impressive fourth for fewest points conceded, but only ninth for points scored. Last year, those rankings completely flipped, scoring seemingly no longer an issue, the Blues fourth for attack. They couldn't, however, defend opposition stoppage wins, and were a lowly 14th for fewest points conceded.
Now it's back to the 2023 imbalance, Carlton ranked fourth defensively but only 10th for points scored, the inefficiency of their attack the Blues' biggest concern, along with the slowness of their ball movement.
If you were arguing the case for Voss' removal, there's also some other factors at play more significant than is often the case when a debate over a coaching tenure begins.
One is the availability of two premiership coaches currently without positions in John Longmire and Adam Simpson, and at the end of this season, another of 13 years' experience and a strike rate of nearly 60% in Ken Hinkley. That's more coaching expertise sitting on the bench waiting for another run than the game has seen for some time.
Another is the arrival (officially) in the position of chief executive of Graham Wright, a seasoned administrator and genuine football expert with a reputation for not shirking the tough decisions be they on players or coaches.
Then there's the age and durability of the list. The Blues have the fifth-oldest playing group in the competition. But unlike Collingwood's, theirs hasn't been nearly as reliable in getting on the park, skipper Patrick Cripps, at 30 again struggling with his body again, Harry McKay, Charlie Curnow, Jacob Weitering and Sam Walsh have all had injury issues at times.
If it's to be this group of Carlton players which finally delivers the club from 30 years of flagless torture, it's going to have to come in the next couple of seasons.
And to that end, the stagnation of the likes of Walsh and McKay (even allowing for injuries), Adam Saad, and Adam Cerra to name a few is another poor advertisement for the power of the coach to elicit the maximum from the talent at his disposal.
I'm not much one for coaches as either the messiah or cause of all a football team's ills. I also believe the list makes the coach more than the other way around.
Is Carlton's good enough? I'm not convinced it is. Its best moments have been not necessarily off the back of its acknowledged stars, but its lesser lights lifting to levels previously unimagined. Perhaps not surprisingly, most of them haven't been able to sustain those levels or get on the park enough.
That said, if I was of the view Carlton's list was good enough in terms of talent to be challenging the Collingwoods, Brisbanes and Geelongs right now, I'd find it hard to ignore the argument that Voss has run out of time and chances.
We talk about coaches under pressure a lot, but few in recent years will have felt the heat the way Voss is about to this week. Perhaps even he won't be under as much pressure as the incoming CEO is about to be put, though.
Is Graham Wright a glass half-full or glass half-empty man? And exactly what does he think of the quality of the Blues' list? You'd love to ask right now. Because Voss' job probably hangs upon his answer.
You can read more of Rohan Connolly's work at FOOTYOLOGY.