Conspiracy theories have it that powerful forces used the excuse of a “toxic culture” within the Matildas set-up as the pretext for Stajcic’s removal, whilst the sub-plot of placing a women in charge for June’s FIFA Women's World Cup in France played out behind the scenes.
However, a board briefing on Wednesday set out the criteria for appointing Stajcic’s successor - and gender preference was nowhere to be seen.
FFA’s new vice-chair Heather Reid, a long-time advocate for women’s football and former CEO of Capital Football, has been at the centre of allegations of engineering Stajcic’s demise, supposedly with the intention of supplanting him with a female.
But those allegations are vehemently denied by fellow board members, with the insistence that due process was followed by Reid and her fellow directors in the decision to end Stajcic’s four-year reign.
The source is adamant there was no evidence of a stealth campaign to terminate him, certainly not among the board or FFA executives.
On the back of two days of soul-searching at a pre-planned leadership workshop in Sydney, the Matildas players will make their own recommendations as to who should replace their inspirational former leader.
And FFA’s head of national performance Luke Casserly and women’s football chief Emma Highwood have already embarked on drawing up a short-list, with the player input welcomed.
The early contenders are thought to include the likes of Germany’s former World Cup winning coach Silvia Neid, United States under-20s mentor Jitka Klimková, Japan’s 2011 World Cup guru Norio Sasaki, and the vastly experienced pair of Vera Pauw, who has managed four nations, and England’s highly-rated Laura Harvey.
Also in the mix are former France and China coach Bruno Bini and Australian Joe Montemurro, who is tasting success with Arsenal women’s team.
The insinuations over gender bias in Stajcic’s axing may make it that much harder for the board to ultimately appoint a woman, for fear of a further backlash.
The yardsticks for the next Matildas coach, as set out by the board, Casserly and Highwood will include requirements such as a proven track record at major tournaments and an alignment with the Matildas’ playing style.
The successful applicant will be able to bring in assistants and will sign an interim contract for the World Cup, with the possibility of staying on for the 2020 Olympic Games.
FFA hope to make an appointment by early February, and in the meantime will seek to ride out the firestorm raging over Stajcic’s exit.
The board had ample time, it believes, to digest the reports provided by women’s and children’s advocacy group Our Watch and the PFA into the culture surrounding the Matildas, as well as dissecting whether they were acting in haste, before finally pulling the pin on Stajcic last Friday.
The ultimate conclusion was that Stajcic, in the light of the weight of feedback received, wasn’t the right person to take the team forward, and that a “culture reset” was required.
The board believes the seismic reaction to “Stajcicgate” is symptomatic of a long-festering distrust of head office by many of the game’s stakeholders.
Whilst this latest episode has the hallmarks of another PR miscalculation presided over by FFA, the newly reconstituted board is playing the long game and hoping that a bank of goodwill is slowly restored, piece by piece.
That restoration will include a searching VAR review for the next season - amid a concerted pledge to make it work better - plus interaction with the grassroots in the form of fans’ forums attended by senior executives and board members.
There is also a pledge to review the managerial culture of its own executives, which won’t exempt CEO David Gallop, whose stocks among the football public appear at an all-time low point.
