While the end for Michael Voss at Carlton is not confirmed, the Grim Reaper is stalking the AFL legend for a second time.
It must feel like deja vu for Voss, who was struck down as coach of Brisbane 12 years ago in 2013.
After captaining the Lions to three premierships as player, winning a Brownlow Medal and securing five All-Australian blazers, it was a fairytale appointment when Voss replaced Leigh Matthews as Brisbane coach for the 2009 season.
With Jonathan Brown as his skipper, Voss' first campaign in 2009 at the Lions was a relative success, with 13 wins, eight losses and a draw seeing the team comfortably finish sixth on the ladder.
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In the elimination final, Brisbane were 30 points down against Carlton, before the team fought back to secure a famous seven-point victory.
Despite a semi-final defeat to the Western Bulldogs the following week, the future looked relatively bright under Voss at this early stage.
However in the desperation to become a premiership contender straight away, Voss' Lions brought in Brendan Fevola, Brent Staker, Amon Buchanan, Andrew Raines and Xavier Clarke as experienced players designed to lift the team.
But significant draft capital was given away to bring in these players, promising defender and eventual 200-gamer Lachie Henderson was traded out and key forward Daniel Bradshaw quit after being offered up in a trade.
After four rounds in 2010, Brisbane were 4-0 and looking primed to be a contender. But from that point Voss' side only won three more games for the rest of the season and finished in the bottom four.
The team under Voss continued to capitulate in 2011, not winning their first game of the season until round 9 and only securing four victories for the campaign as they finished third-last.
There was marginal improvement in 2012 as the Lions won 10 games to finish 13th on the ladder, but this was salvaged somewhat with three straight wins to finish off the year.
As Brisbane headed for another 10-win season in 2013, Voss decided to not continue coaching at the club after Round 20, after it became apparent he was going to be sacked once the campaign concluded.
In an interview after his axing, Voss revealed the Lions has been chasing Paul Roos as their new coach and this was likely a factor in his sacking.
"There were some peripheral issues starting to emerge (when we were 8-11), a sense of urgency around the decision that needed to be made at that time," Voss told Mike Sheahan on Open Mike in 2014.
"Here was a definite play for the club to go after Roosy and he was well down the track for another football club.
"The club was very keen to have him on board, and to do that I needed to not be in the position. They made that decision, and I only knew bits and pieces of what was going on."
Eight years after his dismissal at Brisbane, mainly filled by being an assistant at Port Adelaide, Voss was appointed Carlton coach for the 2022 season after Ross Lyon decided to pull out of the appointment process.
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His tenure at the Blues had a heartbreaking start, with the team sitting in the top four at Round 13, but losing seven of their last 10 games, including the last four consecutively, to miss finals.
At the Round 15 bye in 2023, Carlton were sitting 15th on the ladder and the pressure was mounting on Voss, but nine wins in a row saw the team finish fifth and enter finals as one of the form teams.
But once again, their season ended in heartbreak after winning through to the preliminary final against Brisbane.
The Blues kicked the first five goals to streak to a lead that would have had supporters thinking of a grand final appearance, but by half-time the Lions were in front and eventually ended up winning by 16 points.
Last season, Carlton were second on the ladder after winning in Round 19, but lost four of their last five games to just scrape into the eight on percentage.
Ironically in the elimination final, they were once again beaten by the Lions, who were eventual premiers, at the Gabba after conceding the first five goals of the game.
Now in 2025, the jungle drums are beating once again for Voss' possible dismissal after two disappointing defeats to North Melbourne and Port Adelaide have left the Blues two wins out of the eight, having played at least an extra match than the teams above.
It's a long way back from here for Voss to dodge the scythe of the Grim Reaper, and while it's not impossible, the club's poor form and lengthy injury list is going to make that task difficult at best.
Twelve years after being sacked from Brisbane, it must be a familiar scenario brewing for one of the greats of the game.