Essendon Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Daniel Giansiracusa to Ben Rutten’s senior coaching panel.
Giansiracusa’s signing comes after he was named the 2020 AFL Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year.
The 38-year-old joins Blake Caracella, James Kelly, Dan Jordan, Leigh Tudor and Cameron Roberts as assistants to Rutten for the 2021 season.
After a stellar 265-game career for the Western Bulldogs, Giansiracusa immediately transitioned into a coaching role at Whitten Oval in 2015, tasked with overseeing the club’s forward line before moving into stoppages and set plays.
By 2019, he took the reins as Footscray’s senior coach and led the team to a finals berth in his first year at the helm.
General manager of football Dan Richardson said the Bombers were thrilled to secure Giansiracusa’s services.
“We’re delighted to welcome Daniel, his wife Kelly and their family to the Bombers,” Richardson said.
“Daniel is clearly a naturally talented coach, develops strong relationships with players and has had experience across a number of lines as well as leading his own team to a finals berth with Footscray last year.
“As we enter a new phase of the football program under Ben, we’re looking forward to Daniel hitting the ground running along with Ben and our other coaches, as well as the players at the start of the 2021 pre-season.”
Giansiracusa said he was excited to support new senior coach Rutten.
“I am really thankful to Ben (Rutten), Dan (Richardson) and the club for the opportunity to join a new club and to continue my coaching career at the Bombers,” Giansiracusa said.
“Ben has a really clear vision of the football program he wants to lead heading into the 2021 season, and there was a very clear alignment and similarities in our coaching philosophies. I’m looking forward to supporting Ben and joining Blake (Caracella), James (Kelly), Dan, Leigh (Tudor) and Cameron (Roberts) to work closely and develop this playing group next year and beyond.
“I also wish to thank Luke Beveridge and the Western Bulldogs for their support over many years and wish them well for their upcoming pre-season campaign.”
Giansiracusa will commence in his role with the Bombers in early November.
Essendon President Paul Brasher and football governance director Sean Wellman are continuing to lead the process of interviewing players and staff from the football department with the objective of establishing key insights and learnings from the 2020 season. This process is expected to be finalised mid-November.
