Essendon president Andrew Welsh is believed to endorse interim coach Dean Solomon as the next leader of the Bombers.
The Tullamarine club is on the lookout for a new senior coach after sacking Brad Scott last month. The decision came following seven victories in 36 games.
Solomon has taken over as caretaker after Scott's departure, but the update, revealed by the Herald Sun, that the premiership Bomber is leading the race, certainly drew raised eyebrows.
Welsh's former teammate and coach, James Hird, has stood out as the likeliest of candidates after he declared his desire to return to the role, while experienced coaches John Longmire and Ken Hinkley are understood to be in the mix.
"The most important thing for me as an Essendon person is for them to go through the most exhaustive process possible to find the best person," Hird said on Channel Nine's Footy Classified last month.
"If the club came to me and said, 'Would you be part of that process?' I would definitely say yes.
"It is something I'd love to be part of, to pit my wares against the other coaches and see if I'm the best man for the job.
"If I'm the best man for the job, yes, I would love to do that job.
"If I'm not, choose the best man and let's go forward and make it the best club in the AFL again."
However, it is understood that Hird and Welsh have yet to communicate about the position.
Welsh and Solomon are close mates, beginning during their Essendon playing days.
Solomon was on the board when Welsh stepped up to the presidency in September, but was sent to the football program as an assistant under Scott ahead of 2026.
After his 209 games in the AFL (159 for Essendon), Solomon immediately jumped into coaching, spending time at Fremantle, Gold Coast, GWS, as well as senior coach of Tweed Coast Tigers in Queensland, before reuniting with the Bombers.
He was the Suns' caretaker in 2017 and has largely spent time amongst the AFL coaching fraternity in a variety of roles, which is in stark contrast to Hird, who, aside from a brief part-time assistant at the Giants, as well as currently at Port Melbourne, hasn't been in clubland since 2015.
Solomon has said that, when probed about his coaching ambitions, he hasn't had time to think about it following a whirlwind few weeks.
“I won't even consider that. I won't consider that while I am doing this job. I think it is the wrong thing to do for me to entertain [that],” Solomon said before his first game as coach against the West Coast.
“I've got to knuckle down . . . . my heart is with the players and the staff. If I am thinking about something else, that's potentially about me, it's just the wrong thing.”
