Brad Scott has stunningly claimed Essendon “blindsided” him when he was sacked on Tuesday morning.
The 60-year-old was dismissed after the Bombers’ dismal performance against Richmond on Friday night saw them fall to a 10th defeat in 11 games in 2026.
But in his first interview since being dismissed, he admitted he was still surprised they decided to axe him.
Speaking on The Agenda Setters on Channel 7, Scott was asked whether he felt he had been “blindsided” by the club.
To which he replied: “I suppose I was, yeah. I mean, we’re going through a difficult period clearly, but it hasn’t felt any different to other weeks.
“Again, I’ve been really well supported over a long period of time with a plan that we put in place.
“As I mentioned a couple of times, all the key people were part of that plan and building that plan.
“And so it felt like business as usual to me that we’d clearly articulated the risks going into this season and the difficulties we may face, but we believe in the plan and I still believe in the plan, and I’m committed to seeing it through and committed to the playing group and to all the players we recontracted as part of that plan.
“So yeah, it was surprising, but I’ve been in this industry for a long time. It’s not surprising because pressure does strange things.”
Scott then went on to open up about how his sacking unfolded, revealing it was supposed to be confidential until he could tell the players.
But somehow the news was leaked before he was able to do so, and he admits that was “frustrating”.
He added: “It’s been a challenge at Essendon over the journey. But the frustrating thing about this was that I spoke to Andrew (club president Andrew Welsh) last night, we were going to catch up at 7.30 this morning, we were going to hold it tight.
“There are only eight people who knew, plus a media manager. And then I’d get the opportunity to speak to the players.
“But at 7.30 in the morning, the players already knew, because everyone knew. So it made it untenable to go to the club and speak to the players. So that’ll have to come a bit later.”
Essendon star Zach Merrett revealed prior to Scott’s interview that he learned of the coach’s sacking from a man in a coffee shop.
And Scott was quizzed on Merrett as it was put to him whether he agreed with the club’s decision not to trade the midfielder at the end of the 2025 season.
To which he replied: “No, my view was that Zach had given incredible service to the Essendon football club. He’d been through multiple strategies, multiple coaches, been made promises on multiple occasions.
“My view is always you invest in the team and you put the team first. And Zach found that really hard to do at the end of last year. And I felt for him and I felt for his family.”
When pressed on whether he thought Merrett had acted selfishly, he added: “No, I didn’t think he was being selfish. I thought he had been promised things over and over again.
“He was at his wits end and he couldn’t invest in the team anymore. Now, he certainly does through his actions on field. But my view was that we should let him go.
“But the club’s view was that we should keep him. So again, my view is what the club’s view is. And I fronted that.”
The Agenda Setters is at 7.30pm every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night on 7mate and 7plus Sport.
Originally published as Brad Scott breaks silence with ‘blindsided’ claim after Essendon sacking