Dean Solomon

Dean Solomon (born 9 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Solomon is serving as the interim senior coach of Essendon following the sacking of Brad Scott in May 2026. He also served as caretaker senior coach with Gold Coast for the last three games of the 2017 season, following the departure of senior coach Rodney Eade on 7 August 2017.

Early career Solomon grew up in the outback mining town of Broken Hill excelling in basketball, cricket and football though it is the latter in which he held the most promise. Playing for the North Broken Hill Football Club, a team with which his family has a long history, he received several honours as a junior, along with several junior premierships, however as a 16-year-old he was awarded "best junior" when playing for the league or A-grade team against many large, hard men who would often attempt to physically intimidate him. Solomon played his last game for North Broken Hill in 1996, unfortunately injuring his fingers and missing a grand final.

Solomon then went on to play for the Bendigo Pioneers in the under 18 TAC Cup competition. He was selected in the 1997 AFL draft by Essendon with a 2nd round selection, number 20 overall.

Playing career

Essendon Solomon made his AFL debut in 1998 for Essendon and was part of their 2000 premiership team. Solomon played a total of 158 games and kicked a total of 56 goals for Essendon from 1998 until 2006.

Fremantle On 13 October 2006, Solomon was traded to Fremantle, following a trade of draft picks No. 42 and No. 47, Fremantle also gained pick No. 52 from the Bombers. He links up with close friend, forward Chris Tarrant who was traded to the Dockers on the same day from Collingwood.

In 2008, Solomon was reported for elbowing Cameron Ling to the head which resulted in broken cheekbones and eye socket. Solomon received an 8-week suspension, the most severe AFL tribunal penalty in 11 years.

On 18 February 2010, Solomon announced his retirement from AFL football due to a painful degenerative knee injury. Solomon played a total of 51 games and kicked 22 goals for Fremantle from 2007 until 2009.

Gold Coast Suns He joined Gold Coast Suns as an assistant coach in the months before they entered the AFL for the 2011 season.

During the 2017 season, Solomon was appointed caretaker senior coach of Gold Coast Suns, with three matches left to go after Rodney Eade stepped down as Gold Coast Suns senior coach, during the 2017 season, when Eade was told he would not be receiving a contract extension with Gold Coast Suns. The Suns under Solomon went on to lose all three games for the rest of the 2017 season. Solomon was not retained as Gold Coast Suns senior coach at the conclusion of the 2017 season and was replaced by Stuart Dew as Gold Coast Suns senior coach. Solomon however remained at the club as assistant coach.

After nine years of service as an assistant coach, Solomon was sacked at the end of the 2020 season. Upon his departure from the club, and on the advice of Adam Simpson, Solomon decided to take a 12 month sabbatical from the AFL in a bid to further develop himself with an eye on returning to coaching in 2022; during this sabbatical he ran a gym in Kingscliff, New South Wales.

Greater Western Sydney On 17 May 2022, it was announced that Solomon would be joining the coaching staff at Greater Western Sydney as part-time assistant coach for the rest of the 2022 season under GWS caretaker senior coach and his former teammate Mark McVeigh, who replaced Leon Cameron after Cameron resigned as GWS senior coach in the middle of the 2022 season after Round 9, 2022. Solomon left GWS Giants at the end of the 2022 season.

Tweed Coast Football Club On 9 November 2022, Solomon was appointed senior coach of Tweed Coast Football Club, a club that competes in the Queensland Football Association Division 2 South.

Essendon On 23 October 2025, it was announced that Solomon would return to Essendon as an assistant coach under senior coach Brad Scott for the 2026 season. In late May 2026, following round 11, Solomon was appointed as caretaker senior coach of Essendon following Scott's sacking for the remainder of the 2026 season.

Playing statistics

209 78 85 1834 1119 2953 815 648 0.4 0.4 8.8 5.4 14.1 3.9 3.1

Tribunal history Season Round Charge category (level) Victim Result Verdict Ref(s) 2004 11 Melee involvement — Guilty (accepted fine) $4,500 fine 2005 18 Melee involvement — Guilty (accepted fine) $2,400 fine 2006 8 Charging (3) Ben Cousins Not guilty (won at tribunal) — 2007 PS-QF Striking (1) Brent Harvey Guilty (early plea) Reprimand 6 Misconduct (3) Jason Roe Guilty (lost at tribunal) 1 match suspension 21 Wrestling Brad Miller Guilty (accepted fine) $900 fine 8 Wrestling Tom Williams Guilty (accepted fine) $1,800 fine 15 Striking (6) Cameron Ling Guilty (direct to tribunal) 8 matches suspension Key:

PS – Pre-season competition EF – Elimination final QF – Qualifying final

SF – Semi-final PF – Preliminary final GF – Grand final