Collingwood president Jeff Browne tells board he’s stepping down from the role

That is certainly not anytime soon with the club now dealing with drama around football boss Graham Wright’s departure, and controversy surrounding their CEO Craig Kelly.

The latter has been accused of racism by a former Collingwood employee, while Wright’s exit comes after taking a year off.

It has also been reported that there were “significant tensions” between Wright and Kelly.

Kelly and Wright were both members of Collingwood’s 1990 premiership team.

Browne is up for re-election this year but it is expected he will now start a succession plan and will leave some time within the next 12 months.

It has been a disappointing year for the Pies, after a wildly successful season in 2023 which culminated in a premiership.

Now they have missed finals and are looking at restructuring their football department and replacing their president.

Rumours have also surfaced that Kelly and the club will part ways, but the club denies this.

Browne officially became the club’s president at the end of 2021, taking over from interim president Mark Korda who stepped into the role after Eddie McGuire’s exit at the star of the year.

His mission was to heal Collingwood after a year of internal fighting and the launch of the explosive Do Better report.

Coach Nathan Buckley also ended his time at the club halfway through that season.

The club then appointed Craig McRae as its senior coach and a meteoric rise up the ladder followed.

In 2021 Collingwood finished second bottom but they were one point away from making a grand final in 2022, before saluting last year.

Browne was diagnosed with the blood cancer in September in 2023, but he kept the news private during Collingwood’s premiership celebrations.

“It is presently incurable and that’s a shock to anybody,” he told 7NEWS at the start of the year.

”It’s like a football club …. You know, you finish 17th two years ago and you win the premiership two years later.

“If you fight hard, apply yourself, show discipline in your life and determination and believe, then good things happen.

”I’m determined to beat it … and I’ve got too much to do in my life,” he said.

“If I hit the wall I’ll hit it hard and they’ll have to scrape me off.”

Browne is the father of former Channel 7 AFL reporter Tom Browne.

Board member and Venture capital funds manager Barry Carp is widely seen as the leading candidate to replace Browne.