Following an online vote of members, the club changed the font of the CFC monogram on the front of its playing guernsey.
The club's three scheduled pre-season matches were played as part of the 2015 NAB Challenge series.
The club had engaged in optimistic preseason marketing, which included Mick Malthouse telling the media that "it’s very, very difficult to see where we’re going to lose a game";[40] but after only the second round, a 69-point loss against West Coast, Steven Trigg and Mark LoGiudice publicly declared that the club was in a phase of rebuilding.
The following weeks were characterised by poor performances and low crowds,[41] which resulted in speculation about Malthouse's coaching future with the club.
[44] The following morning, Malthouse gave an interview on SEN 1116 in which he was openly critical of the club's administration: he blamed the club's poor performances in part on the psychological effect of Trigg's and LoGiudice's talk of rebuilding; he said he believed LoGiudice's administration had never intended to retain him as coach even before the season began; and he made allegations that Adelaide, during Carlton CEO Steven Trigg's tenure there, had illegally signed a contract with Eddie Betts eighteen months before he became an eligible free agent (Betts had transferred from Carlton to Adelaide at the end of 2013 as a restricted free agent, and the AFL dismissed Malthouse's allegations).
[7] The club's performances improved over the following six weeks, with two wins and two close losses, but the end of the season was little better than the start, and Carlton won only one of its last ten matches, finishing last on percentage.
The following other awards were presented on John Nicholls Medal night:-[71] Andrejs Everitt was Carlton's leading goalkicker for the season, with 31 goals.
Patrick Cripps was nominated for 2015 NAB AFL Rising Star award after his Round 4 performance against St Kilda.
[81] Carlton's Brad Walsh won the Laurie Hill Trophy as Northern's best and fairest.