Scott took charge of the Bombers at the beginning of 2023 and won less than 37% of his 80 games in charge, failing to get the team to the finals with best finishes of 11th in both 2023 and 2024.
That followed a ten-year period at North Melbourne in which Scott led the Roos into September during his third, fifth, sixth and seventh seasons in charge.
With the side sliding horrifically backwards from 2025 onwards, Essendon management have lost faith in the direction in which the club is heading under Scott, with the Bombers lamenting a 1-10 record and percentage of just 70.9.
Their infamous 20+ year drought without winning a single finals match looks further away than ever from breaking, and it has been reported that assistant coach and former player Dean Solomon is expected to be appointed this week on an interim basis.
Club President Andrew Welsh, who will announce Scott's replacement at a lunchtime press conference at Essendon HQ on Tuesday, said that despite Scott having to oversee one of the youngest and least experienced teams in the competition, the on-field results were still below expectations.
Essendon began season 2026 with the competition's third-youngest and third-least experienced squad at an average age of 23 and average of 58 AFL games played, but Welsh and Bombers fans will nonetheless be hoping to see signs of better days to come under Scott's successor.
The Bombers will close out Round 12 when they face West Coast in Perth on Sunday evening.
Statement from Essendon President Andrew Welsh
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“In recent years we have transitioned our playing list, overhauled our high-performance department and enhanced our list and recruiting division and today we made the difficult decision to change our senior coaching structure.
“We have been extremely clear on the strategy and direction of our football club. We are building the next successful era for Essendon, with a view to playing finals, winning finals and competing for premierships.
“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.
“We know recent times have been hard for Essendon people, and we feel that deeply. We are confident the best days for this football club are ahead of us and we are excited about the future.”