Geelong coach Chris Scott says Essendon must prove to Ross Lyon that he’d have internal support if he is to take up the senior coaching role at the embattled club.
Lyon is one of the names linked with the vacant role at Essendon, but said last week that he is “wary” and “cautious” of re-entering the AFL’s coaching ranks.
Scott has been outspoken about the difficulties of being a senior coach at the AFL level, and suggested Lyon would have to do significant due diligence before jumping into Essendon with the club in turmoil.
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“I’m sure there would be a part of him that thinks another crack would be fulfilling,” he told Nine’s Footy Classified.
“I made comments a while ago about how hard the job is, and I don’t really take them back. You’ve got to really know what you’re getting yourself into.
“I’ll speak for myself, if I were going into a situation where I thought I didn’t have great support, in hindsight, I wouldn’t do it. I went into Geelong on a hope really.
“I knew those people a little bit, but I just assumed they would support me, and they did unbelievably well. But in my part, it was as much a guess as anything.
“I think for Ross after 15 years he’d want a little bit more than hope.”
Lyon discusses prospect of coaching Dons
If Lyon does take the Essendon job, Scott believes he could enjoy success.
“I really rate him as a coach,” he said.
“I think it’s really unfair that the bounce of the ball in a grand final in any way diminishes what he was as a coach.
“He was very influential for me as a coach, and I didn’t even have any personal contact with him (aside from) a couple of conversations here and there.
“Just watching him from afar, he was very influential in the formative days of my head coaching career, and I thought he did a terrific job at Fremantle as well, getting them in contention.”
Scott’s twin brother, Brad, who previously coached North Melbourne before taking up a job inside the AFL’s head office, has also been linked with the Essendon job.
Brad Scott coached the Kangaroos to two preliminary finals in just over nine seasons at the helm, but his twin brother believes he’ll stay put in his current role.
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“Yeah, he could do it,” Scott said when asked if his brother could do the job at Essendon.
“‘Should he?’ is a different question.
“My understanding, speaking to him personally is … he loves his job.”
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