‘Only Essendon…’: Bombers board member steps down to join coaching staff in unique move

Essendon board member Dean Solomon has stepped down to join the club’s coaching panel, in a unique move.

Solomon, a 2000 premiership Bomber, was a longtime assistant coach at Fremantle, Gold Coast and GWS, briefly holding the interim senior job at the Suns.

But now after being a member of the board, which included ruling on whether to trade Zach Merrett, Solomon has been picked to join senior coach Brad Scott’s team.

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“I’ve tried to recruit ‘Solly’ in the past as an Assistant Coach and I’m rapt that we’ve been able to secure his services this time around. We have been working on this plan for several weeks now, and it’s great that he has been able to jump out of his Board role and back into our Football Department,” Scott said.

“He is vastly experienced as a football person who will add a layer of strength to our coaching group and be a key pillar in helping to develop and grow our list.

“Having coached and played against him, we have aligned philosophy on how the game should be played, and his addition to our group makes us stronger, which we are all excited about.”

Bombers president Andrew Welsh declared this was “the best use” of Solomon at the club.

“When looking to fill the vacant position within our coaching team, Brad (Scott), ‘Vozz’ (Craig Vozzo), Daniel (McPherson), and I were considering who is out there and the best available talent across the industry,” Welsh said.

“When it was first raised to me about ‘Solly’ joining the coaching group, it made me consider what the best use for him at the Club was. He has been invaluable to us on the Board, but taking into account everyone’s views, it was clear that it was an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up, and that’s when we first approached ‘Solly’ about the role.

“’Solly’ needed to take a lot into consideration, including relocating from NSW, but after careful thought, he embraced the opportunity, and we were rapt that he accepted this role as an Assistant Coach to get back into the trenches and help fast-track the development of the team.

“A process is already underway to fill Dean’s vacant board position, with that person having a football background to ensure we still maintain football expertise at board level. We expect to make an announcement on the new Director in the coming weeks.”