Leading AFL commentator Gerard Whateley has skewered Essendon for breaking the news of Brad Scott’s sacking as coach the day after club icon Neale Daniher’s death threw the sport into mourning.
Scott learned of his axing in a meeting with Bombers president Andrew Welsh on Tuesday morning, with Neale’s death announced on Monday afternoon.
‘What a shocking morning for a sacking,’ Whateley said on SEN on Tuesday.
‘On that alone, Essendon stands to be damned.
‘The club issued its vale Neale Daniher statement at five o’clock yesterday. I wonder where that fitted in with the bloody business of sacking a coach.
‘Not the morning news I would’ve liked to share with you initially, but our 11 o’clock hour will be dedicated to Neale Daniher.’
Leading footy commentator Gerard Whateley (pictured) said Essendon ‘stands to be damned’ for announcing the axing of coach Brad Scott the day after Neale Daniher’s death
Daniher (pictured) became a Bombers legend as he played 82 games for the club from 1978 to 1990, winning the team’s best and fairest award in 1981
Whateley then tore strips off the club over how Scott was dismissed.
‘The Bombers have just become the most embarrassing example of a club offering the full support of the board just before it sacks the coach,’ he said.
‘The compulsion of Essendon’s leaders to spread their nonsense publicly rather than keep their counsel and assess their options was a flawed strategy in real time.
‘It made them look foolish.’
Whateley said Bombers top brass including Andrew Welsh had backed Scott to the hilt as recently as Gather Round last month.
‘Like Carlton, Essendon’s long suit is sacking coaches,’ he continued.
‘It might be the only thing they’re good at.’
Welsh made a statement paying tribute to Neale at the start of his press conference on Tuesday afternoon before going on to explain why Scott was sacked.
Pictured: Bombers CEO Tim Roberts (left) and president Andrew Welsh address the media as they explained Scott’s axing on Tuesday
Scott (pictured) departs after Essendon equalled their club-record losing streak of 17 games under his watch
Scott, 50, has paid the price for the Bombers’ dismal start to the AFL season, having won just one of their first 11 games.
The final straw was seemingly Essendon’s ugly loss to Richmond on Friday night that anchored the Bombers to the bottom of the ladder.
Essendon this year also equalled their club-record losing streak of 17 games, which included the final 13 matches of their 2025 campaign.
The Bombers famously haven’t won a final since the 2004 elimination final and that unwanted streak looks set to continue beyond this year.
Essendon’s only win this season was over Melbourne in Gather Round in early April, with few highlights bar those provided by youngsters like Sullivan Robey, Dyson Sharp and Nate Caddy.
Scott departs after 80 games at the helm, for 29 wins, 50 losses and one draw.
The former North Melbourne mentor signed a one-year extension through to the end of the 2027 season in March 2025.
That was supposed to deliver stability to the battling Bombers.
But Essendon are now on the hunt for their third senior coach in five seasons.
