Essendon president Andrew Welsh is “endorsing” former board member and now interim boss Dean Solomon as the next full-time Bombers coach, according to a report.

Code Sports’ Scott Gullan reported Welsh wants his former teammate and close friend Solomon to take the job, writing that “at this stage it’s believed Welsh would have to be talked out of giving it to Solomon”.

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Former Essendon coach James Hird has proclaimed his interest in the role while more recent ex-coaches John Longmire and Ken Hinkley are expected to be among the lead candidates should the Bombers go through a full search process.

But Welsh has reportedly not spoken with Hird about the role and the Bombers have not released any information about their plans for a search.

“Industry figures say Welsh has had Solomon earmarked for some time to be the man to steady the ship at The Hangar,” Gullan wrote.

Seven’s Mitch Cleary reported this week he would have Solomon “firmly in consideration for this job”.

Fox Footy host Sarah Jones was surprised by the report, saying on Thursday Night Footy: “you’ve got to run a process – you’ve got to line Solomon up against the best candidates across the board.

“I expect Hird to do well in that process, but you can’t just install Solomon as the coach, particularly given they’re (Solomon and Welsh) such close friends, you need to prove to the world if he is the guy, it’s all on merit.”

James McDonald gets harassed by Andrew Welsh and Dean Solomon during the 2004 elimination final – Essendon’s last finals win.Source: News Corp Australia

Geelong great Cameron Mooney added: “If he (Welsh) stakes his claim to Dean Solomon and it doesn’t work, then he’s gotta go too.”

Solomon’s hiring would be somewhat surprising given he has only been an assistant coach, for about one season’s worth of games, across two jobs over the past five years.

After taking the interim Essendon role, Solomon said he had no interest in the full-time job while the season was ongoing, saying: “I think it’s really the wrong thing to do for me to entertain any thoughts around that.

“I’ve got to knuckle down – my last 48 hours (after Brad Scott’s departure) has been chaos. I actually don’t have the capacity to take that top spot on at the moment.

“It won’t be in-season … I might struggle, or dislike the role, so who knows … I won’t consider it in-season.”

Solomon was briefly an assistant coach at Fremantle after his retirement from the AFL, then joining Gold Coast’s inaugural coaching staff, where he was an interim coach for three games after the 2017 sacking of Rodney Eade.

Solomon was overlooked for the full-time job in favour of Stuart Dew, but remained at the Suns until the end of 2020 when he was let go.

He then took a part-time assistant role at GWS, along with Hird, in 2022 under their ex-teammate Mark McVeigh who was the interim coach following Leon Cameron’s mid-season departure.

Giants coaches James Hird, Mark McVeigh and Dean Solomon during the Round 14 AFL match between the GWS Giants and Western Bulldogs at Giants Stadium on 18th June, 2022. Photo by Phil HillyardSource: News Corp Australia

Solomon then made the unusual move from the Essendon board (a role he was serving while living in NSW) to the assistant coaching ranks late last year, with some reports of tension between Solomon and former coach Brad Scott during this season.

His only other experience as a senior coach came while leading the Tweed Coast Tigers in the QFA Division 2 South between 2023 and 2025.