Former GWS coach Leon Cameron has revealed he turned down an approach from Essendon after just a “10-15 minute” chat, admitting he just wasn’t ready to a return to a senior job.
Instead, Cameron has signed as Sydney’s new Coaching Director for the Swans’ Academy in a bid to remain in New South Wales for family reasons.
Cameron is now the second experienced coach to turn down a Bombers approach, following on from Ross Lyon this week.
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Speaking on SEN after his new job was announced, Cameron said the “timing was not right” to take over from Ben Rutten as Essendon coach.
“(The Academy job) allows us to remain in Sydney with the family which was always the plan,” he said.
“When I got the opportunity to work with the Swans it was a no-brainer in the end – exciting times and looking forward to it.
“I had a chat with Josh (Essendon general manager of footy Josh Mahoney) on Thursday or Friday. It was just a good 10-15 minute chat. We played with each other at the Bulldogs so we know each other quite well. We just had a chat and I just informed him I was going to stay in Sydney and thanked him for the opportunity to talk.
“The timing’s just not right. I really wanted to use the next 12 months to reflect what happened in the previous 10 years as a senior coach at the Giants and work on the things I’m good at and strong at and reflect in the areas I want to improve at.”
Cameron said given he wasn’t mentally ready to return to senior coaching, he had to step away from the Bombers’ process.
“You can’t half go into any job at the highest level. I just kept on looking at myself and saying, ‘No I’m not ready, I’m not ready’. I need to reflect. I love the game, I love footy, I love coaching but I can’t go in at 95 per cent.
“Clearly you look at it and you want to throw your hat in the ring. One part of your brain goes, you want to throw your hat in the ring but then the other part goes: ‘No, there’s some family commitments here’. Sydney’s a really good spot, we’re embedded here at the moment with schooling for the kids and all those things go through your head.”
Cameron, who stepped down at GWS mid-season, did say he would reassess his stance on a return to senior coaching in “12 to 24 months’ time”.
Essendon has come under fire for their decision to implement a six-member coaching panel to hire Rutten’s replacement.
But the move has Cameron’s approval in the hopes the new coach can turn the club’s fortunes around after a tough 2022 campaign.
“I think they are absolutely doing everything right. Not one bit did I think that if I was ready to go, to go through a process whether it be Essendon or any footy club, to go through a process to win the senior job that I would start from scratch and away I go,” he said.
“I know there’s some people who will comment; we’ve just seen Alastair Clarkson courted by the North Melbourne footy club – there’s some extreme circumstances. But they are looking for a coach and they are going through the market and everyone needs to go through that.
“Whether they start at step one or step two into step three, that had no bearing on my decision.
“Mine was just purely, ‘Hey if I was ready in 12 months time, I’m full on’. If that means I start at step one, I start at step one. I applaud Essendon for going through that.”
Former North Melbourne coach Brad Scott is reportedly in the running for the Bombers’ job, along with Melbourne assistant Adem Yze.
