Essendon Football Club has made a number of changes to its Coaching structure in preparation for the 2018 season.

Following an end of season review, the Club has restructured the midfield coaching role, and as a result Guy McKenna will not be continuing.

McKenna joined the Club at the end of 2015 and was the midfield coach for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

With a long history in the AFL both as a player and as a coach, McKenna has decided to move on from football, accepting a position at Cricket Victoria as Coaching and Talent ID Specialist.

General Manager of Football, Rob Kerr, thanked McKenna for his contribution to the Club.

“The duties of the Midfield Coach have been restructured in order to align more effectively with the distinction between the roles of our Strategy Coaches and our Performance Coaches,” Kerr said.

“I would like to thank Guy for his service to the Club, as well as bringing his football knowledge and strong work ethic to the table, he has added to the spirit and morale of the Club with his enthusiastic and positive nature.

“On behalf of the entire Club, I would like to wish Guy and his family every success for the future, and he leaves with the knowledge he will always be welcome at the Essendon Football Club.”

As part of the restructure, former Essendon and Geelong player, James Kelly, has taken up a position within the Bombers Coaching Department.

The triple premiership player will remain at the Club next season after accepting the role of Performance Coach with a focus on the development players.

“James has a rich knowledge of the game, having an AFL career that spanned over 15 years and multiple premierships,” Kerr said.

“In his two years at Essendon he has worked closely with the younger players, he’s played a crucial role in helping develop their game and mentor them on what it takes to extract the most out of their careers.

“He is a strong leader on and off the field, and is a great addition to the coaching staff.”

In further changes, Hayden Skipworth will transition from coaching the forward line to the midfield group, while taking on greater responsibilities.

Paul Corrigan moves from coaching the Club’s VFL side to the forward line.

Performance Coach, Dan Jordan, has been named as the 2018 VFL Head Coach.

2018 Coaching Staff

John Worsfold – Senior Coach

Mark Neeld – Game Performance Coach

Rob Harding – Game Intelligence & Opposition Strategy Coach

Paul Corrigan – Performance Coach, Forwards

Hayden Skipworth – Performance Coach, Midfield

Mark Harvey – Performance Coach, Backs

Dan Jordan – VFL Head Coach

Mark Corrigan – Performance Coach

James Kelly – Performance Coach