Brad Scott has been sacked as Essendon coach after the Bombers slumped to the bottom of the AFL ladder with just one win from 11 matches. The decision followed a heavy loss to Richmond on Friday and ends a coaching spell that delivered 29 wins, 50 defeats and
The message landed quickly after Friday night football at Windy Hill. Essendon’s season had already turned into a grinding struggle—then came another demoralising blow, this time to an injury-ravaged Richmond side that ran out easy winners.
By today, Brad Scott was gone.
The 50-year-old has been sacked as Essendon coach as the club sits last on the ladder with just one win from 11 matches this season. Scott took the reins at Windy Hill at the start of the 2023 season, and the Bombers’ fortunes have been bleak ever since.
His record with the Bombers stands at 29 wins, 50 defeats and one draw since he joined after coaching North Melbourne from 2010 to 2019.
Scott’s exit was confirmed after Essendon’s loss to Richmond on Friday. described as demoralising. with Richmond winning despite a horror injury toll. The defeat also capped another ugly chapter: this year. Essendon equalled their club-record losing streak of 17 games. which included losing the final 13 matches of their 2025 campaign.
There was supposed to be stability after Scott signed a one-year extension through to the end of the 2027 season in March 2025. Instead, the club has now moved on, preparing for a new direction—and already, the pressure points have turned into hard numbers.
Essendon are now on the hunt for their third senior coach in five seasons.
Estimates of Scott’s payout vary from $800,000 to $2 million, reflecting how abruptly the club has chosen to cut ties.
Dean Solomon, Essendon’s current defensive coach, has been named as a possible interim replacement.
Bombers president Andrew Welsh said the decision was made after the club assessed where its team sits and how it progresses next.
“Ultimately, whilst we know we are a young team, we are not comfortable with our current position which led us to meet as a Board to assess and make a decision on the future of the Senior Coach position,” Welsh said.
“When looking at the overall progress of our football team this season, it was agreed that we needed a fresh voice to take the club forward for the 2027 AFL Season.
“Once that decision was made, it would have been unfair to have Brad continue as coach any longer and that is why we have brought this decision forward to today.”
“There is a lot to be gained from the second half of the season and we won’t waste the opportunity to develop and improve our performances.”
The move closes the door on a coaching career built on longevity and expectation. Brad Scott is the identical twin brother of Geelong coach Chris Scott. and he began his coaching career as an assistant with Collingwood before moving to the Kangaroos. With North Melbourne, he won 106 matches and lost 105.
Before coaching, Scott was a two-time premiership winner as a player with the Brisbane Lions during their early-2000s run. He played 146 matches for the reigning premiers from 1998 to 2006 after being drafted by Hawthorn in 1997.
His coaching tenure at Essendon also carried its own moments of controversy. In May 2024. Scott called Tarryn Thomas a “good person” who deserved a “second chance” despite Thomas—then a former North Melbourne star—being sacked by the Kangaroos after copping an 18-match ban over allegations of inappropriate behaviour with a woman.
A clear through-line sits in the facts now: a club that believed an extension to 2027 could stabilise matters has reached the bottom of the ladder with one win from 11, matched a club-record 17-game losing streak, and turned a loss to Richmond on Friday into the final trigger for change.
With Essendon now moving toward their next senior coach—one of three in five seasons—the focus shifts immediately to what the club can salvage in the second half of the 2026 season, and how quickly a “fresh voice” can arrest the slide that has defined Scott’s Bombers era.
Brad Scott Essendon AFL Essendon coach sacked Richmond Windy Hill Dean Solomon Andrew Welsh AFL ladder