John Worsfold is the 32nd Senior Coach of the Essendon Football Club after the Board endorsed the Coaching Sub-Committee’s recommendation.
Worsfold emerged as the preferred candidate following an extensive selection process, which included a number of high calibre candidates.
The Premiership Coach said his passion to re-ignite his career had been burning for some time.
“I’m excited to begin the next chapter in my coaching career with the Essendon Football Club,” Worsfold said.
“Ask anyone who’s coached at senior level and they’ll tell you the passion to coach never leaves you. My time away from the cut and thrust of senior coaching only increased my appetite to return.
“Once my family gave me their blessing to pursue the job at Essendon, I fully committed myself to the process and I’m extremely fortunate to have been chosen ahead of a number of quality coaches.
“Essendon is a Club that I’ve watched from afar and you can see they have the makings of a very good side. It’s clear they have a talented group of young men on their list, and now my job is to ensure they maximise their potential.”
The 47 year-old coached the West Coast Eagles from 2002 to 2013, with the 2006 season a clear standout. Not only did Worsfold coach the Eagles to their third Premiership, he was also named the All-Australian coach.
Chairman, Paul Little, believes Worsfold has the experience and vision to take the Club forward.
“We’re extremely pleased to announce John Worsfold as our Senior Coach ahead of what promises to be an exciting 2016 season,” Little said.
“As a Club we have established a framework to ensure we nurture a strong culture of sustained success, and we firmly believe John is the right person to lead our team back into finals contention.”
CEO and Chair of the Coaching Sub-Committee, Xavier Campbell, congratulated Worsfold on his appointment.
“We had a really strong field of candidates who applied for the senior coaching position,” Campbell said.
“Following a thorough and extensive interview process, John established himself as the standout candidate.”
“The sub-committee felt that John’s philosophy across a diverse range of elements including the football program and broader operations of the Club, best aligned with our selection criteria.
“On behalf of the sub-committee I’d like to thank the applicants for being part of the process, for their professionalism and we wish them all the best for their future endeavours.”
