Away from club with a quip on his shoulders
chairman in a dark stadium tunnel, usually after a defeat which has proven to be the last straw.
To preserve any shred of dignity they have remaining, they're ushered out a side door, spared the ignominy of fronting the media and drift quietly away from the club they've invested so much of their time and energy in to during their stay.
It's almost cruel, but it made what happened here even more unique.
There was emotion, sure, but most obviously from Durante who was close to tears as he contemplated the events of the past 48 hours.
If there was ever any thought of Merrick “losing” the dressing room or jumping before he could be pushed, they were dispelled by Durante's softly-spoken words.
“We have to accept that we are responsible for this,” he said.
“When he told us, the players' reaction was silence. No-one said anything. When Ernie left the room, Mossy (Glen Moss) stood up and said, ‘This is on us' and it is. We let him down. We need to accept that. The players have to own this.”
As his now-former captain said those words, I wondered what Merrick was thinking and more specifically, whether he was sure he'd done the right thing. The conclusion I drew is he's probably not absolutely certain, but he's done what the ego of other coaches hasn't allowed them to do in similar – or worse – predicaments.
He made a decision based not on what was best for him, but what he believes to be best for the football club. He truly believes the Phoenix will be better served with someone else completing the job he described as being about three-quarters done.
His final on-the-record words were to request a bottle of wine from his chairman as a leaving gift and to ask if he was allowed to keep his sponsorsupplied watch. And with that, the curtain came down on Ernie Merrick's Phoenix tenure.
Engaging, honest, humble and humorous. A lover of football. A pleasure to deal with.