ESSENDON has lost patience with Brad Scott, sacking its senior coach after the club managed just one win in its first 11 games of the season. 

Scott had one year remaining on his contract but had guided the Bombers to a single victory in the club's past 24 matches. 

2000 premiership player and experienced assistant Dean Solomon has been appointed as the interim coach.

President Andrew Welsh and CEO Tim Roberts fronted the media at Tullamarine on Tuesday afternoon, saying the board had made a unanimous decision that Scott would not be the coach in 2027 and he would be relieved of his duties immediately. 

Scott's contract until the end of 2027 will be paid out in full, with the total set to be well over $1 million, but Roberts said the club would be able to absorb the extra cost. 

Welsh said Essendon had not set a timeline for the process of searching for its new senior coach but said the club had not ruled anyone in or out, including interim coach Solomon or former coach James Hird.

"We are not ruling anyone in or anyone out. I am sure there will be a lot of people interested in this role," Welsh said.

"This is an industry that that demands high performance, continual improvement, and a relentless drive to get better every day," Welsh said of Scott's exit.

"We are not comfortable with where we currently sit as a board, we met in recent days, assessed our position honestly, and made a decision. The nature of our losses, the way we are playing, and the key performance indicators we set out at the start of the season are not trending in the right direction.

"When we looked at the overall picture, we agreed that a fresh voice was needed to take this club forward, and that Brad would not be our senior coach in 2027. Once that decision was made, we moved to let Brad know and work through the next steps with him.

"We know recent times have been hard for Essendon people, and we feel that deeply but, I want to be clear, we are not going backwards from here. The direction of this football club is strong. We are confident the days ahead for Essendon are the best days that we will see from this club, and we're excited about the future."

Welsh said he informed Scott of the board's decision on Monday night before meeting with him again on Tuesday morning.

"Brad is a resilient, stoic leader who gave everything to this football club and to the people in it. He came to Essendon with a clear set of values, and he never compromised them, through good times and difficult ones," Welsh said.

"We appreciate the sacrifices he made for our club, and thank him for his commitment and professionalism. Brad leaves a legacy with the decisions he made in building our list which were always club-first.

"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.

"While long-term decisions have been clear and provide great hope for our future, we still need to show progress week to week, and we haven’t seen that this year. These are genuinely difficult decisions, and we do not take them lightly but the cumulative nature of our losses and the key performance indicators set by the club at the start of the season are not trending in the right direction."

Scott was appointed as Essendon coach at the end of the 2022 season, replacing Ben Rutten amid an overhaul of the club's football department under new president Dave Barham. 

The club rose in Scott's first season with eight wins in its first 13 games but managed just three wins from the remaining 10 games to miss the finals. 

It was the beginning of a pattern, with the Bombers winning eight of their first 11 games in 2024, only to slump after the halfway point and again fall short of September. 

Scott signed a one-year contract extension in March 2025, extending his tenure until the end of 2027, but a similar formline played out in that season. Essendon reached a respectable 6-4 after 10 matches but failed to win another game for the year.

The poor results continued into 2026, with the club's only win in the past 12 months coming against Melbourne in Gather Round as the Bombers equalled their all-time record losing streak of 17 matches. 

Scott, who had previously led North Melbourne for almost 10 seasons and took the Roos twice to preliminary finals, coached a total of 80 games at Essendon, with 29 wins, 50 losses and one draw. 

Scott's departure continues the revolving door at the Bombers since Kevin Sheedy's departure in 2007, with only John Worsfold (107 games) in charge for more than 100 games since then.

Matthew Knights (67 games), James Hird (85 games across two stints), Rutten (44) and Scott (80) have held the role full-time in the past 20 seasons, while Mark Thompson was coach for a season in 2014.

The Bombers have famously not won a final since 2004, when Sheedy was still in the top job.

Scott's exit means there are three clubs on the hunt for a senior coach, with Tasmania searching for its inaugural coach and Carlton chasing a replacement for Michael Voss.

Essendon next plays West Coast away at Optus Stadium on Sunday.