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The Bombers won’t be announcing a new coach before mid-October, with a six-member panel today selected to lead the search for Ben Rutten’s replacement.
In a statement new Essendon club president Dave Barham confirmed a Coaching Panel had been appointed, to be led by Bombers footy boss Josh Mahoney, and include four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis and three-time VFL champion Robert Walls – the man who helped install Ross Lyon as coach at the Saints back in 2011 and Rodney Eade at the Swans in 1996.
Also part of the team is Australian netball champion Simone McKinnis OAM, Andrew Thorburn and club director Dorothy Hisgrove.
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Barham described the team as “diverse” and “talented”, with each member bringing diverse and unique skillsets.
“The coaching process will be thorough and rigorous,” he said.
“We will leave no stone unturned in this process.
“We are committed to making the necessary changes to deliver our club its next premiership.”
The Coaching Panel announcement comes less than a week after Rutten was given his marching orders – just two seasons into his senior coaching career.
Rutten had a 41 per cent success rate in his two years’ at the helm, following on from John Worsfold under a succession plan.
Remarkably Lyon remains one of the early favourites to take on the vacant Essendon coaching job, three years after he was sacked from Fremantle.
Former Bombers coach James Hird is also in the mix, after Barham spoke of the club’s need for an experienced coach moving forward.
“We think we’re after a more experienced coach,” Barham said earlier this week.
“We think a more experienced coach may be able to get more out of this list.”
Other names to attract interest are former Crows coach Don Pyke, current Collingwood assistant and former Lions coach Justin Leppitsch, Port premiership coach Mark Williams and former GWS coach Leon Cameron.
Fox Footy’s David King believes Lyon is the man for the job.
“He’s a top-liner, he’s a star. Everyone says he hasn’t won a flag, he hasn’t done this, how many grand finals do you need to go to endorse your CV? I think he’s challenged players to get the best out of themselves, he’s set really hard and fast standards that he then hands onto the leadership group to maintain,” King said on SEN.
The decision to announce Mahoney as chair of the Coaching Panel is a positive sign his job could be safe, after a testing few days where a host of Rutten supporters exited the club.
Fox Footy’s Gerard Whateley likened the exits to popular cult TV show Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding episode, labelling Wednesday as the “red and black wedding”.
But AFL360 co-host Mark Robinson said the exits were required to give the club a fresh start moving forward.
Barham said the Coaching Panel and the External Club Review would make “recommendations” to the Board to make final decisions.
The External Club Review will be completed around mid-October, Barham confirmed.
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