The Scot was only appointed on December 27, but after a run of four defeats in his seven Championship games in charge and an apparent run-in with Forest's Kuwaiti hierarchy after the club failed to sign any new players in January, his brief tenure in NG2 has come to an end.
Previous Forest boss Sean O'Driscoll, meanwhile, was axed during the Christmas period, despite the Midlanders lying just a point shy of the play-offs and having thumped Leeds 4-2 on Boxing Day, to pave the way for McLeish's arrival.
Forest legends Garry Birtles and John McGovern spoke to Sky Sports News HD moments after the news of McLeish's exit broke and gave their take on the managerial merry-go round at the City Ground and who they think should fill the now-vacant hotseat...
Garry Birtles: Nott'm Forest - 1976-80 and 1982-86
"The way managers are being treated at Forest is shambolic and disgraceful; the Al-Hasawis have come over from abroad and seem to want to make every footballing decision lock, stock and barrel. They have also recently sacked club ambassador Frank Clark, who was fantastic as a player for Forest and got them promoted as a manager, for no real reason. The club is in disarray.
"I'm a Nottingham boy born and bred and I am sick of seeing that football club dragged into the doldrums; the players must be wondering what's going on there and the agents of any potential signings must be thinking: 'There's no stability, so why should we send our players there?' It is so sad for the Forest faithful, too; they were euphoric in the summer when the new owners came in, but now they are forlorn.
"If the Al-Hasawis want to embrace the Brian Clough era, there is guy at Derby, in Nigel Clough, doing a fabulous job; he has no money to spend but is getting a young side playing really good football. I'm sure Roy Keane, another ex-Forest player and a very passionate guy, will come into the equation and you'd hope he could galvanise the club, while Billy Davies is bound to get a mention, too, as he did a grand job leading Forest into the (Championship) play-offs in 2010 and 2011."
John McGovern: Nott'm Forest - 1975-82
"There must have been one or two problems for McLeish to leave after a month, and while we can all surmise as to what those problems might have been, I think the main one was that Alex was utterly disappointed Forest didn't make any major signings in January.
"Forest are six points off the play-offs now but it is still a top job and someone like Nigel Adkins, who was incredibly successful at Scunthorpe and guided Southampton into the Premier League, would be on home territory in the Championship and his appointment would go down well.
"Roberto Di Matteo would be an outsider as I don't know whether he would want to manage in the Championship having managed in the Premier League, but Roy Keane, who has had quite a bit of experience as a manager now, would certainly jump at the chance to manage the club he played for.
"(Chairman) Fawaz Al-Hasawi said he wanted to restore the club to its former glories when he arrived in the summer - but it doesn't seem to have worked out at all. And it will be almost impossible to recreate that success, anyway, unless you find another Brian Clough, one of the few inspirational managers who would get 100 per cent from every single player when they walked across the line on a match day."
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