An intriguing meeting between Fremantle coach Ross Lyon and a Carlton sub-committee member has provided a clue to the Blues' bid for a new senior coach.

Ken Sheldon, the former Blues premiership player and St Kilda coach, met with Lyon just down the road from the Dockers' headquarters on Tuesday. Fremantle said they had no issue with the meeting.

Lyon, contracted until the end of 2017, was dressed in club colours, all but confirming it was not a clandestine meeting.

Lyon was door-stopped by Channel Ten, and asked about the meeting. He replied: "Clearly they [Blues] are just firming up their processes about the requirements of the job. Certainly there is nothing mischievous about it and [it's not] about me."

Lyon then said he found suggestions he was interested in the Blues' role "quite distasteful". However, Dockers assistant coach Simon Lloyd, the brother of Essendon great Matthew, has been mentioned as a man of interest to the Blues.

The highly-rated Lloyd has been an assistant at the Dockers since 2010, while continuing to oversee the club's academy program. He has also worked at Collingwood and Hawthorn.

While Lyon has denied the meeting was about him, he walked out on St Kilda in 2011 while his management was negotiating a new contract. He is close friends with Carlton list manager Steve Silvagni, and it's likely Sheldon was seeking advice about potential candidates for the job from which Mick Malthouse was sacked a month ago.

A Carlton spokesman said the pair often caught up. "Carlton has not offered the coaching job to Ross," he said.

Sheldon and Lyon have been friends for years, and Sheldon was on the Saints' coaching sub-committee that  gave Lyon his first senior role in late 2006. Lyon had spent time as a Carlton assistant coach as part of his apprenticeship.

Sheldon is one of five on the Blues sub-committee, a panel that includes Chris Judd and Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou.

The meeting came as Saints assistant Adam Kingsley emerged as a possible candidate. Kingsley, a former Port Adelaide premiership player, had spent four years as an assistant at the Power before joining the Saints in 2011.

It's understood Kingsley, having spent time as a forwards and midfield coach, is seen as a future senior coach by the Saints.

Blues chief executive Steven Trigg confirmed on Tuesday that his club has begun to officially tap into prospective senior coaches who are prepared to follow what the Blues have declared is their "own model" for a rebuild.

Trigg said  the Blues had contacted possible candidates, but a short list had yet to be drawn up.

"We have started to make some calls and had what I would call the fireside chats, just trying to go through a process of discovery at the moment," he said.

"We feel within reason we have plenty of time ... to make some good, clear, reasoned, timely assessments but, at the moment, it's a time of discovery.

"It is setting the framework for the type of coach, given where we believe Carlton is at and where we are trying to take the club, and a coach fitting into that."

Silvagni had said earlier this year he felt the Blues would need a 66-game rebuild. However, the development of several younger players in recent weeks amid two victories under caretaker coach John Barker could mean the list is not as bad as first thought.

The Blues have displayed a more attacking, direct bent under Barker, with more players also being used through the midfield.

"He [Barker] is doing a fantastic job at the moment. When the circumstances are as they were and you have a change like that, it can be a difficult challenge," Trigg said.

"I think John and his entire coaching team have handled it well. Regardless of whether it's been a win or a loss, the way they have gone about it has been first class.

"We have another 10 or 11 weeks to go, plenty of time to make assessments. That's for him to make assessments and for us. But it's a great opportunity for him to audition right under our noses."

Former Blues coach Brett Ratten distanced himself over the weekend from media suggestions he could return to the club.

Swans assistant Stuart Dew is set to be one candidate of interest, while there has been speculation a Melbourne-based senior coach may also be sounded out.

In terms of list management, the Blues have stated they will not follow the lead of the Saints, who undertook a major rebuild by trading senior players still in their prime.

While announcing the Blues' revamped father-son academy, to be named after dual premiership defender Peter Dean, Silvagni said he would not "tip the baby out with the bath water".

"Obviously, there has been some real positives over the last couple of weeks - it is a long year," he said.

"We have our own model that we will go down. We have come up with it, it has been ticked off by the board and that's the model we will go along with.

"We understand that we have got to get some depth in the list and build that depth. We have to go to the draft and select well and we have got to trade smart.

"Ultimately, that is what it is. We are not going to tip the baby out with the bath water. We have got to do some smart trading, some smart list management and, obviously, we have a plan, which has been ticked off by the board and the football department."

Silvagni's statements could mean the Blues would be loath to trade, for instance, Chris Yarran, who has endured an inconsistent season but could command a first-round draft pick.

On trading for an extra first-round pick, Silvagni said: "It's easy to say that. Ultimately, you have got to look at the deal in its entirety. We need to know what's going in and what's going out.

"We don't want to lose talent, particularly elite talent. It's a tough competition but we also know that if you are going to get something in, a deal needs to be fair," he said.

The Blues could have two father-son draftees, with Silvagni's oldest son, Jack, and Bailey Rice, the son of 1995 premiership defender Dean, firmly in their sights.

Rice could also join St Kilda, or even try his luck in the draft, with his father telling Fairfax Media it would be Bailey's call.

Silvagni reiterated he would excuse himself when it came to making a decision on his highly rated son.

The Blues will have about 18 boys from past players aged between 10 and 18 join their academy. Former player Ryan Houlihan will be coach.

The Blues had previously run an academy under former premiership rover Rod Ashman but this had been neglected in recent years.