Yet almost exactly one year ago, Leiweke made it clear the incoming general manager would have to accept Nelsen as coach.
"They have to respect our decision and our support of Ryan Nelsen. That is the only restriction we will have on the general manager position, other than making sure they are on the same page philosophically with respect to how we are going to build a team here ... Ryan sees the world the way we do. I'm supportive of Ryan. He will be our coach next year."
In the intervening year, while things were far from perfect, Nelsen had moved them to fourth in their conference - a springboard to the playoffs even if recent results hadn't flattered. In what seemed a politically-inspired broadside, Bezbatchenko then went public before the match with New England, accusing Nelsen's team of under-performing.
After the match, when Toronto inexplicably played lethargically by all reports, Nelsen hit out at his GM, saying such sentiments should have been kept in-house. He was fired shortly afterwards.
Bezbatchenko's outburst is like Wayne Scurrah having a public pop at Andrew McFadden at the Warriors, or CEO Michael Redman saying Sir John Kirwan isn't doing a good enough job with the Blues. It's an unwritten rule in sports management that the front office runs the business, the coach runs the team.
The administration will have ideas and opinions (and ultimate control) but the coach has his team and management have his back.
Bezbatchenko and Nelsen differed deeply. Club record scorer Wayne de Rosario was brought back to the club with fanfare earlier this year but Nelsen rarely played 'De Ro' - widely regarded as a Bezbatchenko appointment. Nelsen's networking had brought in former England and Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe, Brazilian striker Gilberto, Brazil's No1 goalkeeper Julio Cesar on loan and respected US midfielder Michael Bradley from Roma.
But Toronto were no certainty to make the playoffs. The political machinations gathered pace. Nelsen might have taken his own advice and kept his feelings about Bezbatchenko in-house. He may also have erred in appointing little-known assistants, including former All White and mate Duncan Oughton. That gave his enemies the chance to stir the pot about an inexperienced coach hiring inexperienced help. All but one of his coaching team have also been fired - a pogrom, really.
If you want a parallel, try the fortunes of another former Spurs defender, Chris Hughton. In 2009-10, he was finally hired as Newcastle's manager after two caretaker stints. He was hailed after a record thumping of Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby. That was in November 2010. He was gone in December with Newcastle 12th.
Newcastle's management were poisonously unpredictable. Their reasoning was, "an individual with more managerial experience was needed to take the club forward".
Good joke.
Newcastle haven't gone forward (apart from a fifth in Alan Pardew's first season after Hughton was fired, they have come 16th and 10th) and, sadly, neither has Hughton. He took Birmingham City close to promotion to the Premier League and then won the job at Norwich. He was fired in April with the club in 17th and relegation looming. The change didn't save them. They were relegated in 18th.
In the end, Nelsen probably doesn't need the money. He has business interests that may seem more attractive now. But hopefully he gives management another go, putting to use lessons learned in this. But you could understand if he asked himself that age-old question: Who'd be a coach?
