New Essendon assistant coach Ben Jacobs says the coaching panel at the club assembled for the 2023 season is the best he’s ever seen.
The former Roos midfielder played 90 games at Arden Street between 2011 and 2018, featuring primarily as a tagger.
He spent time as a development coach at St Kilda in 2022, his first year of coaching at the top level, and now joins the Hangar to work under his former coach Brad Scott.
Jacobs continues a massive shake-up in Essendon’s coaching and football department, with Scott’s appointment seen as the most critical. Following an external review, president Dave Barham has declared the Bombers will pay the luxury tax and overspend on their football department, with the development of players highlighted as a key issue to fix.
But Jacobs is confident the new-look panel will be able to extract the best out of a talented, yet under-performing Essendon list.
“We just sat down in a meeting then and went through what the structures going to look like for the upcoming season,” Jacobs began on SENs The Run Home on Friday afternoon.
“This is the best coaching panel I’ve seen, even when I was playing. I think the boys are going to be excited when they get to pre-season and know they’ve got a port of call for every part of the game.
“You’ve got guys like Brent Stanton and Michael Hurley in development led by Cam Roberts and obviously the extended line coaches there’s going to be a port of call for every player in every area.
“I’m kind of jealous and I kind of wish I was playing for this coaching panel.”
Jacobs joins as an assistant midfield coach, but added development was a key part of his job description.
“Obviously, with Essendon being such a young list, everyone’s got to put their development hat on,” he explained.
“Just being able to work closely with the midfielders and even the midfielders that are well established, they’re still on 26 or 27 (years old), so they’ve still got a lot to improve on.
“I’m just there to support them on that journey.”
While Jacobs’ career was limited by injuries, the hard-nosed on-baller was recognised as one of the best defensive midfielders in the game when deployed by Scott.
It’s a trait he'll look to pass on to a Bombers midfield who copped frequent criticism of failing to run both ways under Ben Rutten.
The club has already signalled Scott will look to improve training standards across the pre-season and into 2023.
Jacobs joins club great Michael Hurley, former star forward Travis Cloke as other additions to the club’s coaching department, while Dan McPherson has been brought in as the new head of performance among other appointments.