‘Not entitled to anything’: Brad Scott unveiled as new Essendon coach

New Essendon coach Brad Scott says future success at the Bombers will boil down to a club-wide attitude that prioritises hard work, discipline and unity.

Following an extensive search for a new coach, which began with a shortlist of over 22 candidates, the Bombers’ board on Thursday evening ratified Scott’s appointment before the club confirmed the news hours later.

Essendon chairman David Barham, who fronted the media with the new coach on Friday morning, confirmed Scott had signed a four-year deal “with options”.

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Scott spent almost 10 years as the senior coach at North Melbourne, taking them to two preliminary finals. He finished with a record of 102 wins and 101 losses, with four finals victories.

“It’s an exciting time for this club,” Scott said. “I’m incredibly humbled but also privileged that I went through an extensive and thorough process and the panel and board feel that I’m the best fit to lead this football team now and into the future.

“I’m as excited as I’ve ever been to be back in football.”

Brad Scott and David Barham. Picture: Nicki Connolly (NCA NewsWire)Source: News Corp Australia

Speaking with reporters, Scott said he’d been left impressed by the club after initial discussions with Barham and football boss Josh Mahoney.

He said he wouldn’t be “putting any timeframes” on when he believed the Bombers could return to finals but added Essendon’s ‘big club’ vibe wouldn’t automatically breed future success, declaring it would come down to a club-wide attitude.

“I‘ve admired the Essendon Football Club from afar for a very long time,” Scott said. “But the longer you spend in football, the more you realise that you’re not entitled to anything, regardless of which club you’re at and what opportunities you have.

“It all comes back to the same thing: Hard work, discipline, being united and being really clear on the direction and the role that everyone needs to play.

“That‘s going to be a big challenge here. But if you’re united and you’re not going in the same direction, I don’t care what players you’ve got, what facilities you’ve got, none of that matters.”

Scott later added: “My role is to drive the football program. Everyone wants the same thing, members and supporters, they want to see the team perform. I want to create a program to enable that.”

Barham said Scott was “a strong leader who will drive standards and establish a winning culture”.

Essendon president David Barham. Picture: Nicki Connolly (NCA NewsWire)Source: News Corp Australia

“This is one of the most exciting days in this football club’s history,” Barham said.

“We get to start with a new coach, start another chapter in what is a long and storeyed history of the football club. We’re looking forward positively and with great enthusiasm about the next years ahead.

“I think they (Essendon fans) will get on board. In the end, all our supporters want to win games. They‘ll get behind that for sure and we’ll be a strong, united club – and if we can be a strong, united club, we’ll be in great shape. The fans, you can see it already, they respect what we’ve done, they respect the process and they respect Brad and they’ll be on board.”

Scott joins the Bombers after a tumultuous and messy end to their 2022 campaign, which saw Barham take over as president from Paul Brasher and coach Ben Rutten sacked amid the club’s failed pursuit of Alastair Clarkson.

The newly-appointed coach said he spent “quite a number of weeks” looking into whether the Bombers job was right for him. But he stressed it “wasn‘t a matter of being convinced” to take the role, saying he was impressed by the club from day one.

“The process that I went through was very extensive and rigorous. There was a lot of, I‘m sure, due diligence done on me and, likewise, I had to do my due diligence on the club,” he said.

Newly-appointed Essendon senior coach Brad Scott. Picture: Nicki Connolly (NCA NewsWire)Source: News Corp Australia

“There‘s been some challenges here at Essendon, but there’s a lot that the club is doing really, really well. That’ll be my first port of call to make sure that we retain all the great things that already exist within this football program and within this football club.”

Barham declared this was “a real chance for renewal” at Essendon.

“It’s not so much about next year. For me this is about how do we reset this club for sustained, long-term success,” the Bombers president said. “That’s what we haven’t had. We’ve been up and down, from the bottom of the ladder to the bottom of the eight.

“We want to reset back on our core business which is footy. We want to go back to being a footy club and concentrating on footy, concentrating on our members.

“We‘ve been really successful off the field … but the time now is for change and renewal about football.”

Scott said he would enter his new role with “eyes wide open”, well aware of the challenges associated with stepping back into the coaching space.

“I think in any high-profile, important role, there are parts that you love and parts that are really challenging. But I wouldn’t have committed to submitting myself to this process and going through the process if, in my mind, I hadn’t reconciled that this is what I want to do,” he said.

Newly appointed Essendon coach Brad Scott. Picture: Robert CianfloneSource: Getty Images

“This time I‘m not an untried, blissfully ignorant 33-year-old. I’ve been in the industry for a long time in various roles and I think I’ve got a pretty good idea of what’s required, but also a good understanding of the challenges involve.”

Scott departs the AFL after three years at league headquarters, including one as head of football operations. He revealed he’d told the Bombers he couldn’t commit to entering the process during the middle of the recent finals series, but the club was ultimately happy to wait.

“It was a really difficult decision for me because I made a conscious decision when I went to the AFL that I was going to fully invest in an administration career,” he said.

“By definition, at a club, you‘re very narrow in your view and you’re very focused on what you need to do, so the three years at the AFL taught me a lot. I learned that there’s a massive football ecosystem out there and I think I come back to the role with a much more rounded approach as to what the football ecosystem.

“Ultimately, I love coaching players, I love improving people … Talent was part of my portfolio at the AFL and every time I went out and looked at the talent pathway, I couldn‘t get away from the fact that that’s really what I love doing. I love developing boys as they’re on the talent pathway through their adult life and that was the most satisfying thing about coaching previously.

Brad Scott will leave the AFL. Picture: Darrian TraynorSource: Supplied

“Ultimately, when it when it came down to the decision, that‘s what I love doing.”

The AFL on Friday morning confirmed Scott would immediately finish his role as the league’s football operations boss.

“Brad has been an integral member of the AFL team over the last three years, firstly playing a key role in leading AFL Victoria, and this season leading the football operations for both the AFL and AFLW competitions,” AFL EGM Football Operations Andrew Dillon said.

“The AFL GM Football is not an easy job to navigate, and we have been so impressed and grateful for Brad’s ability to build relationships throughout the clubs and the wider AFL industry and, where required, make the tough calls for the good of the game,

“After spending a lot of time with Brad, it has been clear a passion for coaching still burns brightly for him. We are looking forward to seeing him back in the coaches’ box on a matchday and Brad will no doubt continue to continue to contribute ideas and insights in his new role.”