Mark McVeigh’s to-do list as Essendon coach, Zach Merrett trade, assistant coaches exodus, offer to James Hird, Sam Durham captaincy, analysis

After months of speculation, fan discontent, endless debate and an ever-shifting list of candidates, Essendon finally has its new coach.

But having officially appointed Mark McVeigh – described by president and close friend Andrew Welsh as “clearly the best candidate” – three months to the day after Brad Scott paid the price for a disastrous start to 2026, the task in front of him is as arduous as any first-time coach has faced in recent history.

Watch every match of the 2026 Toyota AFL Finals Series before the Grand Final LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

And with a group of high-profile Bombers fans and key figures behind the scenes having pledged their support firmly for James Hird, with one even threatening at a coup d’etat on the board, the 232-game Don’s runway to turn the fallen powerhouse around might prove shorter than it has any right to be.

For McVeigh and the Bombers, naming the 45-year old as coach looms as the easy bit.

From making an ultimate decision on Zach Merrett’s future in red and black, to replacing an exodus of assistant coaches and backroom staff, to the Hird dilemma that won’t go away, the next six months are Essendon’s most important in years.

Get it wrong, and the consequences could be catastrophic.

‘RESPECT’ THE KEY AS MERRETT SAGA FACES D-DAY

Central to any discussion around Essendon’s short-term future over the last 12 months has centred on Zach Merrett.

A year on from his much-publicised attempted exit to Hawthorn, the 30-year old is a strong chance to add a seventh Crichton Medal to his already burgeoning trophy cabinet.

The year hasn’t been an easy one for Merrett – Fox Footy’s Jonathan Brown believed he was “not trying and not caring” during an ugly late-season loss to Brisbane.

But an average of 27 disposals per game through the midfield or in stints at half-back, as well as being one of only two Bombers to play every game, speaks to his quality and strength of character.

If it proves his final act as a Bomber, the sight of the No.7, fractured eye socket, black eye and all, coolly slotting the go-ahead goal against Port Adelaide with two minutes on the clock, only for the team to immediately leak a centre bounce clearance and Power major within seconds, could scarcely be more symbolic.

McVeigh, like Scott before him, had nothing but positive words for Merrett in his appointment press conference.

“I’ve got a huge amount of respect for Zach – he’s done so much for the club,” the new coach said.

“You must respect your champions. I’m big on that … I respect him, I want him to be here, but I’ll listen to him as well.”

Scott had similar sentiments to McVeigh, telling Seven’s The Agenda Setters on the evening he was sacked in late May that he was in favour of honouring Merrett’s trade request to the Hawks, out of respect for his years of service.

Caretaker coach – and another McVeigh ally – Dean Solomon said after Sunday’s loss that the veteran should consider the late-career success of Richmond great Trent Cotchin, and his status as a one-club icon, before making a decision on his future.

Fox Footy’s Jon Ralph’s report that Merrett would only remain in red and black if Hird was appointed as coach appears to have scuppered any chance of him not again attempting to have the final year of his long-term contract scrapped.

If McVeigh is good on his “respect” claim, then honouring a trade request, if and when it comes, seems inevitable.

Whether McVeigh’s closer personal relationship with Welsh, whose influence on Merrett’s attempted trade last season superseded even Scott’s, also means less resistance from board level to a move remains to be scene.

The positive is that the Dons have now had 12 months to process what last year came as a bombshell … while 16 other clubs have had the opportunity to consider their interest.

“If you’re a club that wants a classy, star midfielder, he is there for the taking!” Melbourne great Garry Lyon said on Monday’s AFL 360.

“If you’re North Melbourne, if you’re St Kilda, the Western Bulldogs, you’re going ‘what an asset he would be’.

“Don’t just lie down and think it’s (going to Hawthorn) a ‘fate accompli’.”

Hawthorn’s first-round pick, which currently sits at 15 owing to their fourth-placed position heading into finals, is just as unexceptional as it was 12 months ago – and this time, the chance of any extras on top of it appear slim to none.

If another club can pique Merrett’s interest, though – St Kilda, remember, had a Godfather offer on the table for him in 2024 – then there is the possibility the club can make the best of a bad situation.

That’s out of their hands, though: and either way, the Merrett decision looms as the first major test of McVeigh’s reign.

The fallout from the ex-captain’s trade attempt 12 months ago sent the club into a deathspin.

Releasing him might prove a circuit-breaker on par with Melbourne’s call to cut ties with Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver at the end of 2025 … and allow both parties to depart with dignity intact.

But with calls for unity and togetherness central to both Welsh and McVeigh’s comments on Tuesday, the Bombers can’t afford another emotionally sapping drama like what unfolded last Trade Period.

KEY LIST CALLS LOOMING LARGE

Merrett isn’t the only player at The Hangar whose future is up in the air as McVeigh moves into his new office.

Jordan Ridley has been public about exploring his options – though a new home isn’t as obvious as it is for Merrett, with lukewarm at best interest from Brisbane and Gold Coast amid a purported desire to move to Queensland.

At the other end, 12 Bombers, including several regulars, are coming out of contract and vulnerable should McVeigh wish to start with a clean slate.

Ridley still has three years to run on a monster contract signed in February 2024, but the injury-prone defender has managed just 26 of a possible 69 games since putting pen to paper.

A clean slate would certainly do the player the world of good, and with North Melbourne the latest club to be linked, it’s difficult to see him not following Merrett out the door.

List manager Matt Rosa would have his work cut out for him to leverage Ridley’s contract, reportedly worth $800,000 per year, into a reasonable draft return – but with Tasmania entering the competition next season and the Kangaroos on the up, the time is now to strike if maximising the return is the goal.

Darcy Parish’s future is more uncertain: he’s contracted until 2028 on a hefty pay packet, but has been reportedly exploring his options elsewhere, while the Bombers’ midfield appears to have moved past him.

Given their current plight, moving on any disaffected elder statesmen is a reasonable ploy if McVeigh wants to emulate Steven King’s wildly successful first season at the Demons, which began with a declaration of starting afresh.

Dons hierarchy have the futures of the rest in their own hands, though.

Many are young players worth persevering with – Saad El-Hawli has showed glimpses in his 17 career games to date, even if he has followed four wins from his first four games with 13 losses in a row; Rhys Unwin impressed with his tenacity through a late-season run in the seniors; while promising key forward Tom Edwards and hard-nosed defender Jayden Nguyen deserve the chance for McVeigh to see them up close for a year at least.

From there, it gets more complicated.

Will Setterfield, retained as a pre-season supplementary selection due to Nic Martin’s knee injury,

Jade Gresham has missed a trigger in his contract guaranteeing him an extra year: a 28-year old struggling to get a game at 2026’s worst side certainly isn’t a priority signing.

Matt Guelfi, like Gresham, is 28, and played just three games (including one where he was injured in the opening minutes) – his standing as an excellent clubman might be his only saving grace to earn another year, but it seems unlikely.

Liam McMahon failing to play a game this season isn’t a good sign, though the Dons might be wary of another Patrick Voss-esque blunder in cutting a VFL-level sharpshooter.

Then there’s Archie Perkins and Nik Cox, two of the Bombers’ three top-ten picks at the ill-fated 2020 draft.

Cox’s return to senior football in 2026 was heartwarming, and some excellent VFL matches, including a seven-goal haul, belied his underwhelming AFL returns.

He might be worth another season if McVeigh thinks he has a role for him – 199cm athletes who can kick on either foot aren’t thick on the ground.

Perkins, meanwhile, seems stuck at the Bombers, having spent several weeks at VFL level throughout the season – and missing both the club’s AFL wins.

Just as much as Merrett and Ridley, he could benefit from a change of scenery if any club is willing to throw him a lifeline.

But a new coach could offer just that at the Bombers – and at just 24, he’s got time to turn things around if McVeigh is willing to give him the chance.

The likeliest to depart appears to be Elijah Tsatas, whose twin three-game stints at AFL level in 2026 yielded plenty of disposals but question marks over his kicking and two-way running.

There’s enough in Tsatas as a pure ball-winner for another club to take a punt on the former Pick 5, especially as a delisted free agent.

Jon Ralph reported on Fox Sports’ Midweek Tackle that his “expectation is he will be delisted” – and with Sullivan Robey and Dyson Sharp given the keys to the midfield at the end of the season and Sam Durham and Setterfield set to provide necessary experience, Tsatas looms as expendable.

The Bombers can’t delist everyone, though: who McVeigh and Rosa give a lifeline to will be a clear sign about his values as a senior coach, and the areas he thinks his new list lacks.

DON’S PICK 1 STRATEGY … AND WHAT IT WILL REVEAL

Unlike recent seasons, 2026’s No.1 draft pick standout is yet to truly emerge.

That is, any No.1 draft pick within the Bombers’ grasp, with Dougie Cochrane and Cody Walker tied to Port Adelaide and Carlton respectively as father-son boom recruits.

Emerging Northern Knights ruckman Harry Van Hattum was an early Pick 1 frontrunner.

But it would be a bold move for the Bombers to invest another early pick into a speculative tall – especially after Vigo Visentini ended the season with an eye-catching three-game stretch rucking alongside Nick Bryan.

Mid-forward Gus Teixeira and goalsneak Arki Butler loom as the frontrunners to become Bombers, either before or after bids for Cochrane and Walker.

The Sandringham Dragons pair have qualities, in particular a nose for a goal, that would be instantly bankable assets for McVeigh … and follow through on a need to reinvigorate the club on-field after a turbulent last few years.

“I want us to be brave,” the new coach declared on Tuesday.

“Aggressive with the ball, relentless without it, and (with) a defensive system our players trust.

“When people watch Essendon play, there should be no confusion about what we stand for.”

He cheekily added afterwards: “I won’t be Ross Lyon.”

Who they target will also shed light on whether McVeigh and Rosa believe the Bombers’ long-term midfield, built around Robey and Sharp, needs any further high-end draft help, or if bolstering other areas, such as a second small forward to support Isaac Kako, is a higher priority.

‘TOP OF MY LIST’: THE HIRD CONUNDRUM

In 2002, James Hird copped an accidental knee to the face from a teammate while running back with the flight of the ball, that left him with some of the most gruesome injuries ever seen on a football field.

That teammate? Mark McVeigh.

24 years on, the pair’s fates were intertwined again with both in the running to coach the club they played for.

And even having won the role, Hird remains the red and black elephant in McVeigh’s room.

Such is the Bombers champion, captain and former coach’s influence on his old club even 11 years after his turbulent stint at the helm ended in an ignominious sacking, that he remained the most vocally supported candidate to replace Scott from start to finish.

Fans rocked up to The Hanger en masse to spruik his claim; social media is dominated by calls to bring the favourite son back into the fold.

McVeigh’s appointment comes with long-term member Brent Crabtree threatening to challenge the board, having not got his way to have Hird chosen.

It made it necessary for both McVeigh and Welsh to address the situation on Tuesday.

“I can tell you this club has never been more united,” Welsh said.

“There are people living in the shadows that want to destabilise this club.

“We don’t jump at shadows.”

Just as telling was McVeigh directly addressing “coteries” in a pre-prepared speech accepting the job, with the groups wielding significant power behind the scenes.

“I want to call out the Essendon armada – the thousands of supporters, members and coteries. I don’t ask for your patience. I ask for your re-alignment to our club,” McVeigh said.

Both president and new coach are open to the prospect of Hird returning to the club in some capacity, with McVeigh working with his former teammate during his stint as caretaker coach of GWS in 2022, where the Bombers icon was employed in a part-time leadership capacity.

“Once I found out that I got the role, he (Hird) is certainly on the top of my list, there is no doubt about that,” McVeigh said.

Welsh added: “I feel there’s significant value that James can bring, not just tokenistic, but real value James can bring to our club, to our playing group.”

Should Hird take up the olive branch, balancing his status as arguably the club’s greatest modern player and McVeigh’s need to establish himself as the senior man in any relationship will be difficult, but essential to maintain.

Former Herald Sun chief footy writer Mark Robinson took to Facebook to claim part of the reason Hird was knocked back was the fear he would be “bigger than the club”.

“Makes you think; Bigger than the club, or bigger than them (the coaching panel)?” Robinson wrote.

‘CLEAR CHOICE’: TIME FOR A NEW SKIPPER?

Incumbent coaches stamping their influence by appointing a new captain is nothing new.

Adam Kingsley handing Toby Greene the solo reins at GWS immediately for his first season as senior coach has been a raging success.

Mark Neeld arriving at Melbourne and giving young pair Jack Trengove and Jack Grimes the captaincy in 2012 … less so.

But McVeigh’s arrival affords the opportunity for everyone at the club, from current captain Andrew McGrath himself to the rest of the playing list and coaching staff, the chance to decide whether he remains the best man for the job.

A year on from replacing Zach Merrett, McGrath has been a measured figurehead through the club’s most difficult on-field season ever, playing predominantly in defence.

But calls for the Bombers to install someone more outwardly passionate and capable of leading by ferocious example, especially in the midfield, haven’t been thin on the ground.

“The clear choice for me would be (Sam) Durham,” former Hawthorn great Jordan Lewis said on Fox Footy’s On the Couch in July.

“The inspirational stuff he does on the field, the contest, the unwillingness to give up the ball.

“Why would you go another one year, two years, maybe three years potentially and have a captain who is well liked and performs a role in defence, but not in and around the ball like Sam Durham?”

The former mid-season recruit has been one of the Bombers’ biggest success stories of recent seasons, stepping up during the last few years amid the injury carnage of 2025 and the myriad of disasters that engulfed 2026.

McVeigh’s first captain isn’t the high-stakes, make or break move that the Dons’ No.1 pick choice and Merrett plan will be.

But his claim on Tuesday that he will be a “hard coach” seems to be absolutely tailor made for Durham.

And whether leading a young group through an arduous rebuild or setting the standard for a finals run when the Bombers finally break through again, the 25-year old would be a bold, tone-setting choice to begin the McVeigh era.

…AND WHO FILLS VOID AFTER ASSISTANT EXODUS?

If McVeigh’s first challenge is meeting with Merrett to determine his intentions, then a very close second is dealing with the off-field mess the 2026 season has left to clean up.

The Bombers’ assistant coaching stocks have thinned dramatically in the months after Scott’s departure.

Midfield coach Ben Jacobs and welfare boss Ben Robbins followed Scott out the door within days, while recently, forwards coach Cam Roberts and game strategy manager David Rath have also announced their departure.

It leaves Solomon, who is yet to confirm his intentions for 2027 having spent a year away from his family in northern NSW, Michael Hurley, who replaced him as backline coach when he was appointed caretaker, Jacobs’ midfield coach successor Brent Stanton, ruck coach Todd Goldstein and development coach Toby McLean left in the stable as McVeigh prepares to take charge.

All bar McLean, a premiership player at the Western Bulldogs, have played for the Bombers: Hurley went straight from retirement at the end of 2022 into a development role, meaning the club is all he’s ever known at AFL level.

Changing that balance is something McVeigh has already hinted at.

“I don’t think you can coach Essendon alone on nostalgia,” he said on Tuesday.

McVeigh himself has firsthand experience of the impact experienced new hands behind the scenes can have.

As assistant coach at Sydney, he saw the club first add ex-GWS coach Leon Cameron as football general manager, before last season welcoming in Melbourne premiership coach Simon Goodwin as director of coaching.

The Bombers have the clout to poach a highly rated assistant from elsewhere – and the ambition to go for a big fish.

Hird’s arrival as coach at the end of 2010 famously came with celebrated Geelong dual premiership coach Mark Thompson as his senior assistant – which came in handy two years later when Hird was suspended for the 2014 season over his role in the Bombers’ supplements saga.

As far as coaches with proven experience go, Michael Voss, who has joined Fox Footy’s ranks in the months following his resignation from Carlton, fits the bill on a number of counts.

Not only has he twice coached at the highest level, but he also has vast experience as a second in command, having worked closely under Ken Hinkley for nearly a decade at Port Adelaide in between stints at Brisbane and Carlton.

Stability off-field has always been necessary for success on it.

To achieve the former, McVeigh needs a coaching panel he can rely upon. The recent exodus offers Welsh and the Bombers an opportunity to give him exactly that.