Senior coach John Worsfold says he holds no fears for the club’s transition into a coaching succession plan in the 2020 season.

Next year will be Worsfold’s last in charge of the Bombers as he hands over the reins to assistant coach Ben Rutten and he says he is confident the duo’s strong communication will ensure a smooth process over the next 12 months.

“We’ve got to be committed to it and the communication between both Ben and myself has to be spot on,” Worsfold said on SEN on Wednesday. 

“I’ve really enjoyed having him at the club, he’s a really motivated and driven young man. He’s been working hard to improve himself through study and I think he’s going to do a wonderful job for the footy club. 

“But it’s going to be a massive change for him when he does step in as senior coach, so we get the opportunity this year to start to expand his role as an assistant coach and let him know what else is going to take place, and hopefully have him way better prepared to step in as a senior coach than someone coming straight out of an assistant role.”

Ben Rutten’s motivation and drive has impressed senior coach John Worsfold. (Image: AFL Photos) 

Worsfold reaffirmed his position in charge of the entire AFL program, but said Rutten will take over a number of key responsibilities as he prepares for his turn. 

The expectation for the pre-season has already been set, but Worsfold is expecting the pair to be more flexible with their roles when the home and away season plays out. 

“We’ve already set the platform for how we’re operating through this pre-season and then once the season gets closer and we get through the pre-season games we’ll have a lot better idea of how we want things to operate,” 

“There will be certain things that I am in charge of through the first part of the year, but there’ll be a gradual handover within the year.

“The players need to know their go-to areas if they’ve got concerns and who is in charge of the program, so I don’t think they’ve got any doubt about that.

“Ben’s going to be really hands-on with coaching the game plan, but I’ve got to make sure that that’s filtered through consistently across both the coaching group and the playing group.”

The succession plan is one of a number of changes to the coaching line-up ahead of the 2020 season, with premiership-winning Bomber Blake Caracella returning to Essendon following impressive coaching stints at Richmond and Geelong. 

Caracella has been tasked with leading the club’s offensive ball movement, while experienced assistant Mark Harvey will take over stoppage work as Rutten continues his ongoing team defence responsibility. 

“We’ve brought Blake Caracella in this year. He’s in charge of our attack – when we’re in charge of the footy, Blake is going to direct how we want to move the ball,” Worsfold said.

“It’s really collaborative between Ben looking after defence, which he started to put into place throughout this football season, Blake comes in new and will add some layers to how we want to move the ball, and Mark Harvey is going to work at the actual stoppage craft that the players are doing this year.

“I’ve got to make sure all of those guys are really communicating well together and that the players have clear line of sight on how it all fits together, and I’m looking forward to that role.” 

The recent and immediate departure of assistant coach Hayden Skipworth has seen the Bombers promote former VFL head coach Dan Jordan to a position leading the forward line, and Worsfold was full of praise for the emerging coach. 

“Dan Jordan, who has been at the club for a few years now, is a real high-potential young coach. I really regard him extremely highly.

“He’s run our VFL program and taken the team to the last two preliminary finals in really tough circumstances with some of the injuries we’ve had. 

“He has a great relationship with the playing group, both the VFL guys and the AFL-listed guys and it just opens up a wonderful opportunity for him – I’m really pleased to see him step into that role.”