Mark McVeigh looks set to win the race to return to Essendon as the battling AFL club’s new senior coach.
The 232-gamer took on the challenge of competing against James Hird, his former Bombers captain and ex-GWS coaching colleague, for the role, with Jaymie Graham (Fremantle assistant) and Murray Davis (Adelaide coaching director) also interviewed.
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“Much like Ken Hinkley’s last-minute presentation to the Tasmanian board, this places McVeigh as the runaway favourite to be Brad Scott’s replacement,” 7NEWS Melbourne’s chief footy reporter Mitch Cleary said on Sunday night.
While Hird made the most noise early in the media in declaring his desire to help his beloved club, McVeigh proved his credentials in helping the Sydney Swans to a top-two finish.
He began his coaching career with the Giants and briefly served as the club’s caretaker in 2022, bringing long-time friends Hird and current Essendon interim Dean Solomon on board as an assistant.
He left GWS at the end of that year but immediately found a home with their crosstown rivals.
McVeigh served as backline coach for the Giants and Swans in their runs to the 2019 and 2024 grand finals respectively.
If appointed early next week as is now expected, McVeigh will have a decision to make on whether to depart Sydney immediately and miss out on their finals tilt, or stay until the Swans’ season finishes.
McVeigh is tasked with the mammoth job of rebuilding the Bombers after the worst season in the club’s history and 34 losses from their past 36 games overall.
His appointment is just one piece of the puzzle.
Hird dearly wanted to be the man to bring Essendon back up the ladder but will now have to be content watching from the outside — unless he is brought back into the fold in another role.
Solomon appears unlikely to stick around for a reunion despite previously declaring he has a contract in place for 2027.
The interim coach opted out of applying for the permanent job in part because he has spent almost 12 months away from his northern NSW-based wife and children.
Former captain Zach Merrett is likely to depart in the trade period, as is injury-cursed defender Jordan Ridley.
There have also been question marks this season around Darcy Parish and former first-round draft pick Elijah Tsatas, who has remained out of favour under Solomon as he was repeatedly under former coach Brad Scott.
Whether or not there is a mass exodus, the new coaching staff face a full-scale rebuild of the game plan after a horror year all over the ground.
Essendon have had comfortably the worst defence in the competition, with the midfield seriously lacking and the attack also among the least potent as a result.