To his credit Richard Garvey moved quickly once he realised his presidency had failed across a number of key measures and reached out to Jeff Kennett, ensuring a peaceful coup before the situation turned ugly.

Kennett, who has assumed the presidency after stepping down six years ago, moved quickly to reassert his authority. He immediately declared war on the AFL's Tasmanian strategy and removed any prospect of former league football boss Simon Lethlean replacing the unfortunate Tracey Gaudry, suggesting that Lethlean would not be the right fit for Hawthorn.

And Kennett hinted that he was most likely the chairman who would oversee the end of the Alastair Clarkson era - the most successful coaching era in the history of the club.

Clarkson is said to have assured Kennett several weeks ago that he would honour his contract and remain at the club for at least the next two years.

Clarkson would have known at that meeting - which took place over a private issue - that his chief executive Gaudry was on the way out, but his knowledge of the Kennett coup is less clear.

The two men spoke again on Wednesday afternoon when Clarkson returned Kennett's call after Kennett had declared he was looking forward to resuming his "robust relationship" with Clarkson. He also reminded the assembled media that the coach had two years remaining on his contract.

That Clarkson contract includes a clause that would give the four-time premiership coach a crack at one extra season - 2020 - should the Hawks reach preliminary finals in 2018 and 2019. But Kennett, when asked previously about Clarkson, has said that 10 years is long enough for any senior AFL coach, which sets up a fascinating scenario.

Having famously called 3AW after Hawthorn's narrow loss to Geelong at the start of 2013 to suggest Clarkson's time might be up - three premierships in succession immediately followed - Kennett made a similar suggestion again earlier this season.

The president also once suggested Clarkson have a spell coaching in the VFL and has questioned the board's decision to extend his contract.

But Gold Coast chairman Tony Cochrane ended any hint of speculation that his club would approach Clarkson off the back of the Kennett presidency. The Suns insisted they would choose between the three short-listed candidates Scott Burns, Stuart Dew and John Barker, probably by the end of the week.

Kennett's relationship with Clarkson remains the most intriguing ingredient of his resurrection, although Clarkson would be relieved to have some true leadership back at the club.

Garvey realised in sacking Gaudry on Sunday night that he would have to sack himself. But the indecision and poor leadership played out all day Monday as the club struggled to announce what Fairfax Media had revealed at lunchtime. That could have been a final straw for Kennett.

The inaccurate media-managed announcement, when it came, ended a tough week for the short-lived CEO after Gaudry also lost the vice-presidency of the International Cycling Union. It was also a costly one for Hawthorn given her six-figure payout.

Garvey approached Kennett on Tuesday, telling him he would be standing down and taking responsibility for the Gaudry debacle. That meeting took place the day after Fairfax Media linked Kennett to a potential board challenge.

Vice-president Linda Kristjanson, the vice-chancellor of Swinburne who headed the sub-committee that selected Gaudry, also attended the meeting. Kennett accepted the job in the event of the board's approval and the Hawk directors met at a cafe on Glenferrie Road early on Wednesday to ratify the move.

Quite apart from his stated stand on Tasmania - and AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan now faces a struggle to remove the Hawks from that landscape - Kennett will refocus the Dingley relocation, which lacked clear direction in terms of public funding and planning and continue the club's push for an AFLW team after the club under Garvey's predecessor Andrew Newbold initially chose not to bid.

The board faces a clean-out although Kennett will push to retain Garvey, whom he initially appointed as a director - with the Hawks recognising the lack of commercial and marketing expertise at the top table. It will be the president who will move over the coming weeks to appoint the next chief executive.

And then, over his stated term of the next three years, to anoint a successor who in turn must assure this great club never again falls asleep at the wheel.