A fresh voice was needed to take this club forward
In the long and turbulent history of Essendon Football Club, Tuesday brought another reckoning — the dismissal of Brad Scott after a season that yielded just one victory, leaving the Bombers stranded at the foot of the AFL ladder. With 18 months still on his contract, Scott became the second coach this year to be separated from his club, a reminder that in professional sport, patience and performance exist in constant, uneasy negotiation. The club now faces both a $1.3 million financial obligation and the deeper question of identity: who, and what kind of future, do the Bombers truly want?
- One win from a full season's worth of matches had made Scott's position untenable long before the board finally acted, with each loss compounding the pressure on a rebuild that had run out of goodwill.
- A crushing defeat to Richmond on Monday night effectively forced the club's hand, accelerating a decision the board had already reached — that Scott would not be coaching in 2027.
- The $1.3 million severance payout, absorbed into the soft cap, signals just how costly the club's hesitation has become, with assistant Dean Solomon now tasked with steadying a fractured group for the rest of the season.
- Before the press conference had even concluded, the name James Hird was already circulating — the prodigal son whose complicated history with the club has done little to dim his popularity among fans, sponsors, and powerful insiders.
- The club insists no candidate is ruled in or out, but the machinery of a Hird return is already turning, raising questions about whether sentiment and football nous can this time be reconciled.
Brad Scott's tenure as Essendon coach ended on a Tuesday morning in late May, hours after a heavy loss to Richmond had made the inevitable official. The Bombers had won just one match across the season and sat at the bottom of the AFL ladder. Scott had 18 months remaining on his contract. He would not serve a day of them.
President Andrew Welsh and chief executive Tim Roberts fronted the media at Tullamarine, their language measured. Welsh explained that key performance indicators had trended the wrong way, that losses were accumulating in worrying patterns, and that once the board had determined Scott would not coach in 2027, it would have been unfair to leave him in place any longer. The club would pay up to $1.3 million to exit the contract early, absorbed into the soft cap. Assistant coach Dean Solomon — a 2000 premiership player who had moved from the board into the coaching staff — was named interim coach for the remainder of the season.
Welsh spoke respectfully of Scott: a resilient, stoic leader who had never compromised his values and had always made list decisions in the club's interest. But the cumulative weight of defeats, defensive frailties, and stalled development had overtaken the promise of a patient rebuild built around the draft. Scott's argument that the club had committed to a long-term strategy had not been enough to save him.
By the afternoon, attention had turned to his successor. Club great Tim Watson publicly raised the prospect of James Hird returning — the former coach who had led Essendon from 2011 to 2015 before resigning amid the supplements scandal, and who had been passed over when Scott was appointed after the 2022 season. Watson described strong support from fans, sponsors, and influential coterie groups, and noted Hird's own recent admission that coaching was the role he had found most fulfilling. Welsh declined to rule anyone in or out, promising a proper search process.
Essendon became the second club this year, after Carlton, to sack a senior coach. For now, the task falls to Solomon: to find something salvageable in the second half of a broken season, while the club quietly begins deciding what kind of future it wants to build.
Brad Scott's time as Essendon coach ended on a Tuesday morning in late May, with the club announcing his sacking just hours after a crushing loss to Richmond had confirmed what the numbers had been screaming for months: the Bombers had won one game in a year and were sitting at the bottom of the ladder. Scott had 18 months remaining on his contract. He would not see a single day of it.
President Andrew Welsh and chief executive Tim Roberts held the press conference at the club's Tullamarine headquarters, their words measured and careful. The decision, Welsh explained, came down to a simple reality: the club was not comfortable with where it sat, the losses were piling up in worrying ways, and the key performance indicators they had set at the season's start were trending in the wrong direction. There had been a lack of progress. There was a need for a fresh voice. Once the board had agreed Scott would not be their senior coach in 2027, Welsh said, it would have been unfair to keep him in the role any longer. So they moved the timeline forward and let him go now.
The financial cost was substantial. Essendon would pay up to $1.3 million to terminate the contract early, money that would have to be absorbed into the club's soft cap. Scott did not appear at the press conference, though Welsh said he would still address the players at some point. Assistant coach Dean Solomon, a 2000 premiership player who had moved off the board into Scott's coaching team after last season, would take over as interim coach for the remainder of the year. Welsh's language about Scott himself was respectful—he had been a strong leader, a resilient and stoic figure who had never compromised his values, who had made list-building decisions that were always club-first. But respect and retention are different things, and the board had made its choice.
Scott's decline had been gradual but unmistakable. His third and fourth seasons had seen results slip, a process made worse by an injury toll in 2025 that had gutted the playing group. He had recently reminded the media—and perhaps the new hierarchy—that the club's leaders had bought into a long-term rebuild strategy centered on the draft. That argument had not been enough. The cumulative weight of losses, the defensive vulnerabilities, the week-to-week lack of progress: these had outweighed the promise of a patient rebuild.
Before the day was done, the conversation had already shifted to who might replace him. Tim Watson, a club great, raised the prospect of James Hird returning as coach. Hird had coached Essendon from 2011 to 2015 before resigning in the aftermath of the supplements scandal. He had been an unsuccessful applicant when Scott was appointed after the 2022 season. Now, Watson said, there was a very strong push from many quarters to bring Hird back. Essendon people wanted success, wanted the right person, and many believed that person might be Hird. He remained popular with sponsors and powerful coterie groups. Earlier in the month, Hird had said on television that coaching was his clear choice among all the jobs he had held, that the passion for putting a team together was the highest thrill outside of playing.
Welsh was careful not to close any doors. The club was not ruling anyone in or out, he said. There would be a proper coach search, Watson suggested, as there had been when Scott was hired. But Hird would still have to coach, Watson cautioned—all the off-field support in the world meant nothing if he could not stand before the players and outline a compelling plan. Watson did note that Hird had a track record of developing talent, a chronic weakness at the club. The question of whether Hird would return remained open, but the machinery of possibility had already begun to turn.
The sacking made Essendon the second club this year, after Carlton, to part ways with a coach. The Tasmanian Devils, due to enter the league in 2028, were also in the market for a senior coach. The landscape of Australian football's coaching ranks was shifting. For Essendon, the immediate task was to salvage something from the second half of the season with Solomon at the helm. Welsh had said the club would not waste the opportunity to develop and improve. Whether that meant building toward a return for Hird, or searching elsewhere entirely, remained to be determined.
Notable Quotes
This is an industry that demands high performance, continual improvement, and a relentless drive to get better every day. We are not comfortable with where we currently sit.— Andrew Welsh, Essendon president
There is a very, very strong push from a lot of people out there to get James back at Essendon, coaching. Essendon people want success, they want the right person.— Tim Watson, club great, on radio
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did it take a full year of one win to make this decision? Couldn't they have seen the problem earlier?
The board kept saying they believed in the rebuild, in the draft strategy. Scott had reminded them of that publicly. But at some point, patience becomes indifference, and losses become a kind of evidence that can't be argued with anymore.
What's the actual cost here beyond the $1.3 million?
The money is real, but it goes into the soft cap, so it's a structural hit. The bigger cost is the disruption—you're mid-season, your captain has a broken jaw, and now you're asking the players to buy into a new interim coach with no continuity.
Why is everyone suddenly talking about James Hird?
Because he's the ghost in the room. He's still popular with the fans and the money people. He's said he wants to coach. And he's the one person who might actually unite a fractured club around a sense of purpose.
But didn't he leave under a cloud?
He did. The supplements saga was real. But that was over a decade ago. In football, memory is shorter than you'd think, especially when you're desperate for a winner.
What happens to the players now?
They finish the season under Solomon, who at least knows the club culture. But they're playing for a coach who's temporary, which is its own kind of limbo. Some of them, like Merrett, are already thinking about leaving anyway.
Is this the end of the rebuild?
Not officially. Welsh said the direction is still strong, the strategy is still clear. But actions speak louder than words, and what they've just done is admit the strategy wasn't working fast enough.