Bombers legend Tim Watson has hit out at reports there are moves behind the scenes for Essendon coach Brad Scott to be replaced.
It was first reported by veteran journalist Caroline Wilson that Essendon “Old Boys” believe assistant coach Dean Solomon would be better in the senior role after the club’s 62-point thrashing by Hawthorn.
Scott himself said after the game his team has “got a big gap to bridge” to compete against the top teams in the competition.
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Wilson said on Channel 7’s Agenda Setters on Tuesday Kevin Sheedy was among a group of figures pushing for Scott to be axed.
“Kevin Sheedy, we know he’s a big fan of Dean Solomon,” Wilson said.
“He coached him to premierships. The conversation around the Essendonians et cetera, the old boys, is that maybe Dean Solomon would make a great coach of the Essendon Football Club and he and James Hird would work well together.
“You just look at Brad Scott and you have to say at the moment the cards are stacked against him.”
Scott’s appointment at the end of the 2022 season ripped factions within the club further apart as Sheedy pushed for former captain James Hird to be given the job following Ben Rutten’s axing.
Sheedy officially stepped down from his role on the club’s board of directors in 2024.
The premiership winning coach reportedly remains a powerful voice with sections of the club.
However, Watson on Wednesday said he was not aware of a reported move behind the scenes to show Scott the door after three lacklustre seasons.
“Are we moving into an area of reporting where we’re quoting a coterie group at a football club,” Watson said on SEN Breakfast.
“Caro said the word around the Essendonians… there’s a lot of different stuff that comes out from coteries at football clubs. Most of it is just chatter and conversation around the team.
“I don’t know whether Kevin Sheedy is out there talking about Dean Solomon being the next coach of the Essendon Football Club. I haven’t heard him say that, so I don’t know whether that’s true or not.
“If it was then I think he’s got to temper where he says whatever it is that he’s saying about whoever it is that he wants to be the next coach. Because he has a really powerful voice at the Essendon Football Club.
“Our club has been destabilised over a long period of time, it has never been able to get itself on sure footing in any way. I think that he needs to understand that this would not be helping the situation.
“He can say whatever he likes but if you’re having conversations and you’re a powerful figure like Kevin Sheedy then you need to probably understand who you’re talking to, where you’re saying these things, and the destabilising effect that it might have on a football club.
“There’s a time and a place for everything. You can have your private conversations and do your power building behind the scenes, and I don’t know at administration level now if he has that power.
“He wanted James Hird to be coach when Brad Scott was hired. He got rolled on that which was something he disagreed with vehemently at the time and he’s been public about that.”
The former Channel 7 sport presenter went on to say: “I’m making a statement around what I’m hearing and I’m saying that from what I understand there is no validity, there is no evidence that at this point in time there is anybody trying to push Brad Scott out of the football club and put Dean Solomon in there”.
Scott said after the team’s loss to the Hawks his players had been taught a lesson.
“Even though our effort at contest and ground ball was okay … our inability to stop them transitioning out of our front half was just nowhere near the level,” Scott said.
“I don’t think anyone’s under any illusions we’ve got a big gap to bridge. But, we got a good lesson tonight.
“It was our inability to defend against a very good kicking side and a very good running side. GWS were able to defend it last week … but the reality is, it’s a bit off. It’s not as if they did anything that surprised us. It was just our inability to stop it.”
The sobering start to 2026 comes after the Bombers finished last year with 13 straight losses, amid a major injury crisis that at one point saw them almost unable to field 23 AFL-listed players.
Nic Martin won’t play at all in 2026, while Jordan Ridley, Isaac Kako, Will Setterfield and Nick Bryan were all among the names absent in Round 1 through injury. It’s left the Dons with little opportunity to build on-field chemistry with such a high turnover rate week-to-week.
