Brad Scott will be coach of Essendon for at least the next four years.
“This is a significant appointment and another important step forward in the progress of our club,” president Dave Barham said in an email to members late on Thursday.
Brad Scott is expected to be unveiled as Essendon’s new senior coach.Credit:The Age
He came in a late rush and was interviewed only on Thursday afternoon.
The appointment means Essendon president David Barham has delivered on his stated goal of hiring an experienced coach.
Scott has been preferred to Melbourne assistant coach Adem Yze and the less likely candidature of James Hird, a legendary but controversial figure at Bomberland.
Scott was recommended by a panel consisting of Bombers football boss Josh Mahoney, Hawthorn’s four-time premiership player Jordan Lewis, ex-Carlton premiership coach Robert Walls, board member Dorothy Hisgrove, ex-NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn and leading netball coach Simone McKinnis.
Scott has been general manager of football at the AFL and an important figure at the league before he decided in recent days to pursue the Essendon position.
Scott’s task is to resurrect the fortunes of the Bombers, a 16-premiership powerhouse, but without even a finals win to their name since 2004. Their most recent coach, Ben Rutten, was sacked in August after less than two seasons.
Scott had the advantage of almost 10 years of experience as senior coach, plus three years as assistant at Collingwood and then a further three years working in AFL football operations, where he had a say in many facets of the game,
Scott, 46, is the twin brother of the reigning premiership coach, Geelong’s Chris Scott. They were teammates in Brisbane’s highly successful team’s at the start of the century before embarking on coaching careers.
As coach of North Melbourne until 2019, Scott took them to preliminary finals in 2014 and 2015 and to two other finals series. At Essendon, he will have more resources, but also have to deal with greater expectations.
Most recently, he has been working for the AFL, in community footy, then a senior footy operations role.
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