Essendon interim coach Dean Solomon has explained why he opted not to pursue the vacancy at the club, saying it wasn't the right time.
Solomon confirmed on Wednesday he wouldn't join the coaching process, leaving James Hird, Mark McVeigh, Jaymie Graham and Murray Davis as the remaining candidates.
"I took my time with it," he said on Thursday.
"It's important because I never said I was ‘in' either; it was a consideration. My family lives in Northern New South Wales. 19 months ago when the assistant coaching role came available, I left two business partners quickly to take up this role. It's multi-layered.
"The time's just not right for me.
"In any decision I make, I go through a process which involves all those things: family, business, where you live, the timing of the job, the commitment of this job, all that sort of stuff, always.
"Of course I considered it, but it's just not the right time."
Solomon is contracted for next year, and has stated his intention to remain at the Bombers in some capacity, but admits there is an "unknown" beyond 2026.
"I'm still contracted (for next year). But again, that's multi-layered as well because a new coach will come in and they'll have a structure in their mind and the people who they'd like to fill that with," he explained.
"It's all unknown over the next couple of weeks until that coach is put in place, but we'll work through it and see where it lands."
Solomon was quizzed on which candidate would be favoured for the position.
"I think people just need to be really clear on where the list is at and it's an exciting young group," he said.
"The opportunity for the next coach is a really exciting one. I think I said about (the next) 40-60 games being a real development phase that we need to go into. Post-that, it's going to be quite exciting, but there's a lot of hard work to be done still in the short-term.
"There's a really good young group here who I keep saying are really hungry to be really, really good. But as we know, unfortunately it takes a bit of time, and we just need to be patient with that.
"You've just got to be the right person for the right time, for the right job. They're taking the time of the process to be incredibly thorough to ensure they get the right person for this job.
"Whether that's a person who has or hasn't played for this football club, I think it's irrelevant - I really do."
The Bombers have three games remaining in the season against Geelong, Sydney and Port Adelaide. They currently sit 18th and are expected to wrangle in Pick 1 - as well as the wooden spoon.
