Former North Melbourne coach Brad Scott has officially put his hat in the ring to coach Essendon, in a massive boost for the Bombers.
Scott is set to be interviewed by Essendon’s six-person coaching panel on Thursday as the club moves closer to finding a new mentor.
And according to some reports, he could be the new Bombers coach as early as Friday if all goes well.
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The 46-year-old has been working at AFL headquarters as operations boss since leaving the Kangaroos back in 2019.
He took the club to two preliminary finals in his nine seasons at the helm.
‘He could have had us over a barrel’ | 02:39
Scott’s decision to return to the AFL coaching ranks is great news for the Bombers, after president Dave Barham said the club wanted to recruit an “experienced” coach to replace Ben Rutten.
Rutten was infamously sacked after the final home and away game of the season, when the club’s last-minute attempt to sign Alastair Clarkson publicly failed.
“I’m pretty excited to be honest that someone of (Scott’s) quality has said they want to coach the club,” Bombers great Matthew Lloyd told 9 News.
“Brad Scott can walk in and handle the coteries, handle supporters. I think he would be the favourite for the job right now.”
Melbourne assistant coach Adem Yze remains in the running at Essendon after being spotted at a second interview with the club last week.
Former Bombers coach James Hird has also been interviewed at least once after he returned to football with GWS.
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But his potential return has been met with plenty of criticism given his notorious role in the Bombers’ infamous drug saga that saw him banned from the game for 12 months.
Scott had recently told media he had a “coaching itch” after more than three years away from it.
According to reports, he remains highly respected in the industry and has the league’s blessing to apply for the vacant Essendon job.
