Essendon coach Brad Scott insists there is no lingering awkwardness between he and club legend Kevin Sheedy despite the latter publicly advocating for someone else to lead the team this year.
Sheedy – who is a bona fide Bombers legend and coached the famous club to four premierships, the last in 2000 – was vocal in his support for James Hird to replace the sacked Ben Rutten as coach.
Hird was captain of the team under Sheedy, and later coached the club before exiting in disgrace amid the supplements saga in 2013. He briefly returned to the helm in 2015 but has not landed a job as a head coach since.
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The Essendon board voted 6-1 in favour of Scott’s appointment in September, with Sheedy made known as the sole member who did not vote for the former North Melbourne coach.
Despite this Sheedy, 75, remains on the board and is an official ambassador for the club.
On Nine’s Footy Classified on Monday, leading journalist Caroline Wilson labelled his presence “an elephant” in the room for the Bombers.
“In terms of Sheeds, I was never concerned about his loyalty to James Hird,” Scott responded to Wilson’s claim.
“I would expect nothing less, and I think Leigh Matthews (who coached Scott at Brisbane) would have the same loyalty towards me.
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“I just didn’t take that personally. Kevin is a really important part of the history of the Essendon Football Club, and he still has an ambassadorial role and an important role.
“Sometimes he gets put in difficult situations where he is asked questions about footy matters, so that’s a challenge for him.”
Essendon endured a nightmare 2022 season in which the Bombers won only seven games and finished 15th on the table.
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Scott has led the team to three wins in four games to start his reign as coach.
Still, there is lingering tension on the selection committee – according to Wilson – between head of football Josh Mahoney and list manager Adrian Dodoro.
Scott could not guarantee the pair would see out the year as colleagues, but denied the strained relationship was impacting the team.
“The Josh and Adrian stuff goes on, but it’s a high-functioning footy department at the moment,” he said.
“We have meetings on a daily basis and it’s not like they are fighting on a daily basis.
“Do they disagree on things? Yes, they do, but that’s what a good committee should do. They should have robust debate.
“I think it’s a fully functioning relationship. I don’t think you have to be best friends… they are both very good operators in their own right.”
The Bombers next play the Demons on Saturday during Gather Round in Adelaide.
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