1 win. That's how many victories Essendon managed in their first 11 games of 2026 before the club removed senior coach Brad Scott on 26 May 2026. Scott still had time left on his contract. The decision followed a stretch that left the Bombers with just one win in their past 24 matches. For supporters the immediate question is practical: Dean Solomon will probably fill the role on an interim basis while the board considers longer term options.

If you are an Essendon supporter trying to work out what the change means for the rest of the season, the facts are stark and fast. The board acted after a sustained on-field decline. Scott was appointed ahead of the 2023 season and, early on, delivered double-digit wins in each of his first two years, 7NEWS reported. But the form curve reversed sharply after Round 17, 2024, when the Bombers were sitting fourth on the ladder.

How the run collapsed

The sequence is easy to describe and hard to swallow. Scott coached 80 games at Essendon, and after that promising 2024 position the side won only eight of the next 42 matches under his tenure, 7NEWS said. The 2026 season opened disastrously with a one-win return from 11 games, a run the AFL described as leaving the club with little margin for patience.

Commentary during the slide focused on two linked problems. First, personnel. The heavy Dreamtime at the G loss to Richmond last weekend left Essendon unusually depleted by injuries. Daniel Harford, on the Six Points AFL podcast, said the injury chaos on the night made it impossible for Essendon to get the job done and that the loss of key players may have briefly delayed the board's decision. Second, strategic inconsistency. Harford and others argued the Bombers lacked a clear, consistent game plan under Scott, with little evidence of a reliably identifiable system from week to week.

Mark Stevens, speaking on the same podcast, painted a dire picture for Scott by pointing to the severity of the club's losing run. On 3AW Football, journalist Caroline Wilson said Scott was unlikely to survive beyond the season given the sequence of results, a view that foreshadowed the board's move this week. Those voices are the public face of a wider frustration inside the club that the early momentum from 2023 and 2024 had evaporated.

Media coverage said the board made its decision over the weekend. Fox Sports reported the sacking follows a broader reshape of AFL coaching positions this month, coming shortly after Michael Voss resigned at Carlton. Within that churn, 7NEWS named assistant coach Dean Solomon as the likely interim replacement for the remainder of the year.

Solomon previously served as caretaker coach at Gold Coast for three games in 2017 after Rodney Eade's departure, a brief stint that gave him prior experience in a temporary head-coach role.

Mastheads

Essendon's immediate plan is straightforward. The club will probably appoint Solomon to lead the team while the board considers longer term options. That interim period will be the club's first real test of direction. If Solomon can steady results and the playing list responds, promoting from within becomes a plausible path. If not, the board will face the tougher choice of seeking an external replacement when Scott's contract period concludes, as AFL.com.au observed.

The practical reality for fans is that an interim coach can only do so much. Injuries after the Richmond game created selection headaches that Harford said made wins hard to expect in the weeks that followed. And while a coaching change can sometimes deliver a short-term lift, it won't itself repair deeper issues around game plan and list construction that critics have identified.

Sure, off-field, the timing matters. The board moved while there was still a season to play and with one year left on Scott's deal. That leaves room to run an orderly process rather than a rushed search. It also exposes the club to questions about recruitment and player development that will now sit with whoever holds the job beyond the interim period.

For the playing group, the immediate aim is simple and immediate: win games. For supporters, the aim is equally simple.

The board has given the team and interim coach a platform to change the immediate narrative. The deeper conversation on list balance and style of play will continue in the background.

The broader coaching market is active. Fox Sports linked the Essendon decision to wider shifts around the competition, including Voss's resignation at Carlton earlier this month. That context matters because it will affect who's available should Essendon choose to look outside the club at season's end.

Across media outlets the tone was similar. The AFL reported the sacking as a response to results, AFL.com.au noted the remaining contract term, 7NEWS supplied the running totals and context about Scott's tenure, and the Six Points AFL podcast offered analysis from Daniel Harford and Mark Stevens on injuries and strategy.

Caroline Wilson's commentary on 3AW Football had already signalled the likelihood of an end to Scott's time at the club. Fox Sports placed the move in the wider coaching shuffle across the league.

That combination of on-field form, personnel problems and strategic doubt is what ultimately ended Scott's time as senior coach. The board has moved quickly. Now the club and supporters must wait to see if a short-term lift arrives under Solomon or if the search goes broader when the contract period is resolved.

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Dean Solomon is likely to step in as interim coach while the board decides whether to promote from within or hire an external replacement once the interim period ends.

This article was created with AI assistance.