Brad Scott was happy for Zach Merrett to leave Essendon and hopes the former captain will still find a new AFL home.
In his first interview since being sacked as the Bombers' coach, Scott said the club was still probably a couple of years away from being a competitive finals team.
He said the decision to sack him came as a surprise, but he understood it because of the mounting pressure brought by Essendon's woeful form.
His comments on Tuesday night came hours after Essendon president Andrew Welsh did not rule out the return of James Hird as next year's senior coach.
Welsh, who stood by the call to block Merrett's trade request last year, is adamant the Bombers "won't be pushed around" even as they have sunk further into the doldrums.
But Scott told the Seven Network the decision to hold Merrett to his contract was the club's.
"I didn't think he was being selfish. He had been promised things over and over again and he was at his wits' end," he said.
"He couldn't invest in the team any more. My view was we should let him go."
Merrett sought a trade to Hawthorn and speculation suggests he will try again at the end of this season, despite having another year on his contract.
"It's the right thing for him and it's the right thing for the club," Scott said.
Welsh, asked if it was a mistake not letting Merrett go in 2025, said: "No, not at all.
"We're not going to be pushed around as a club anymore."
Scott said he believed in Essendon's strategy with their squad rebuild, but added there would be no quick fix.
Asked how long before they would be a competitive finals team, he replied: "It's probably a couple of years away."
While the sacking surprised Scott, who had a year left on his contract, he added he had enough football experience to understand why.
"It felt like business as usual to me. I still believe in the plan and I was committed to seeing it through," he said.
"It was surprising, but in a way ... it's not surprising, because pressure does strange things.
"I knew it was going to be hard. I underestimated just how hard."
Scott also refuted speculation of a rift with Dean Solomon, who now takes over as interim coach. Solomon was part of Essendon's last premiership team in 2000 and is a former teammate of Hird and Welsh.
"We get along really well," Scott said. "He's a rock-solid Essendon person."
Hours after news broke on Tuesday morning that Scott was gone, Welsh was adamant he was not merely bringing back an 'old Essendon' boys' club.
There has long been an agitation among powerful groups of Bomber fans for club champion Hird, who was among those to miss out to Scott in 2022, to return to the hot seat.
Hird took the helm in 2010 but was suspended for the 2014 season for bringing the game into disrepute for his role in the Essendon drugs saga.
He returned to the post but resigned in August 2015 with a final record of 41 wins, 42 losses and one draw.
When asked if he'd spoken to Hird, Welsh said: "I haven't, no.
"We're not ruling anyone in or anyone out of this."
Solomon could also be considered for the full-time role.
Welsh was pressed on whether he was looking to bring back 'old Essendon'.
He said it was "not in consideration at all" for Essendon to base their decisions on bringing back former Bombers figures to get the club moving again.
"I hear a lot around 'old Essendon', 'new Essendon', 'boys club'," he said.
"I look at other clubs that, respectfully, Sam Mitchell's gone back to Hawthorn and doing an amazing job, I look at (Justin) Longmuir over in Fremantle, (Josh) Carr's gone back to Port Adelaide.
"So I think there's some really good history around players going back to clubs and the right people for those groups going to those clubs."
Solomon led training on Tuesday morning ahead of Sunday's away game against West Coast.
Essendon join Carlton and the incoming Tasmania in the race to land a senior coach.
Welsh wouldn't say whether Essendon would target an experienced mentor like John Longmire or a first-time head coach for the "attractive" job.
Scott, 50, paid the price for Essendon winning just one of their first 11 games this year, which include Friday night's ugly loss to Richmond that anchored the Bombers to the bottom of the ladder.
Essendon's board met on Monday and unanimously decided to sack Scott.
Scott departs after 80 games at the helm, for 29 wins, 50 losses and one draw since his 2022 appointment.
The Bombers haven't won a final since the 2004 elimination final.