Ben Rutten may have yet to coach an official game at Essendon, but Kane Cornes is already worried whether he’s the right man to lead the club forward.
The Bombers named Rutten as their senior coach from 2021 at the end of 2019, with current coach John Worsfold staying on in 2020 as part of a succession plan.
The club has struggled throughout most of the current season and sits in 11th spot with six wins from 15 matches.
Cornes is concerned that even at this early stage, Rutten has been unable to outline any discernible game plan and questioned whether he would get the job if an open selection process for their next coach was held right now.
“It’s more a style of play that (Rutten) hasn’t been able to have his influence and bed down and now he takes over under enormous pressure,” he said on SEN’s Whateley.
“Do you think right now if they had left the process open to get a new coach, would Ben Rutten be the one who they go for now or would they have looked at someone who has coached their own team before.
“Is Ben Rutten the guy? It was an interesting choice at the time and it remains really perplexing.”
Cornes was also baffled by a comment current coach John Worsfold made in the post-match press conference after Essendon’s 66-point hammering at the hands of Geelong, where he references external predictions made about the side this season.
“It’s a staggering comment that they’re referencing external expectations on where they’re predicted to finish this year,” Cornes said.
“No one had Port Adelaide making the top eight this year let alone being on the top of the ladder since round one, no one had St Kilda challenging for a top four spot and I didn’t have Geelong in the psitiion they’re in.
“I fully expected them to be challenging, you don’t go get Dylan Shiel and the other players that you got in recently if you don’t do that otherwise you go to the draft.
“It’s a staggering comment from a coach who has two games left.”