The following is a list of coaches who have coached the Essendon Football Club at a game of Australian rules football in the Australian Football League (AFL), formerly the VFL.[1] Key:
Statistics current to the end of round 11, 2024.
| No. | Coach | C | W | L | D | Career Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dave Smith | 39 | 26 | 13 | 0 | 1908–1909 |
| 2 | Allan Belcher | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 1910 |
| 3 | Jack Worrall | 243 | 156 | 85 | 2 | 1911–1915, 1918–1920 |
| 4 | Percy Ogden | 20 | 3 | 15 | 2 | 1920–1921 |
| 5 | Sid Barker | 43 | 31 | 11 | 1 | 1922–1924 |
| 6 | Sam Gravenall | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1922 |
| 7 | Frank Maher | 56 | 32 | 23 | 1 | 1925–1927 |
| 8 | Charlie Hardy | 54 | 30 | 23 | 1 | 1928–1930 |
| 9 | Garnet Campbell | 54 | 22 | 32 | 0 | 1931–1933 |
| 10 | Charlie May | 36 | 12 | 24 | 0 | 1934–1935 |
| 11 | Jack Baggott | 60 | 22 | 38 | 0 | 1936–1939 |
| 12 | Dick Reynolds | 415 | 275 | 134 | 6 | 1939–1960 |
| 13 | Harry Hunter | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1939 |
| 14 | Les Griggs* | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1941 |
| 15 | Elton Plummer* | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1944 |
| 16 | Cec Ruddell* | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1945–1946 |
| 17 | Alan Thaw* | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1959 |
| 18 | John Coleman | 133 | 90 | 40 | 3 | 1961–1967 |
| 19 | Greg Sewell* | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1965 |
| 20 | Jack Clarke | 65 | 33 | 30 | 2 | 1968–1970 |
| 21 | John Birt | 22 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 1971 |
| 22 | Des Tuddenham | 90 | 47 | 43 | 0 | 1972–1975 |
| 23 | Bill Stephen | 44 | 16 | 27 | 1 | 1976–1977 |
| 24 | Barry Davis | 67 | 30 | 36 | 1 | 1978–1980 |
| 25 | Kevin Sheedy | 634 | 386 | 242 | 4 | 1981–2007 |
| 26 | Gary O'Donnell* | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2006 |
| 27 | Matthew Knights | 67 | 25 | 41 | 1 | 2008–2010 |
| 28 | James Hird | 85 | 41 | 43 | 1 | 2011–2013; 2015 |
| 29 | Simon Goodwin* | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2013 |
| 30 | Mark Thompson | 23 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 2014 |
| 31 | Matthew Egan* | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2015 |
| 32 | John Worsfold | 107 | 45 | 61 | 1 | 2016–2020 |
| 33 | Ben Rutten | 44 | 17 | 27 | 0 | 2021–2022 |
| 34 | Brad Scott | 34 | 19 | 14 | 1 | 2023-Present |