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FWC on Sport Nation guideSaints CEO supports Enright's push for head coaching gig
Nicholas Quinlan • July 11th, 2026 8:34 pm
For the last 10 seasons, Corey Enright has built up plenty of experience as an assistant coach at both Geelong with Chris Scott and St Kilda under Brett Ratten and Ross Lyon.
And should he be offered a senior coaching role, the Saints will not stand in his way, according to club CEO Carl Dilena.
Since joining the Saints from Geelong at the end of 2021, Enright has established himself as a future head coach in the AFL, having gone from backline coach to the club’s head of game plan and strategy.
As a result, both Carlton and Essendon have the three-time premiership player within their top candidates for their vacant head coaching roles.
While St Kilda would be disappointed to let him go from their set-up, they have declared that they would allow him to leave should he be successful.
“You don't ever really want to lose quality people, and he's a great operator (and) a great person working with our club,” Dilena told SEN’s Crunch Time.
“At the same time, and I think most clubs are pretty clear on this, you don't want to block a career opportunity for an assistant coach.
“If they get a chance to have a gig as a senior coach, then you back them in for it. We support that.”
While Enright is well within the mix to become either Carlton or Essendon’s next coach, this hasn’t been the first time that the two-time best and fairest with Geelong has been connected to a head coaching gig.
Last year, reports emerged that St Kilda were considering a succession plan with Enright viewed as their next head coach.
But as Dilena explains, they have moved away from that plan and have accepted the possibility of him leaving the club for one of those roles.
“I think that was talked about a couple of years ago, but I don't think we wanted to sort of formalise that and pick out one of our assistants to do that,” he said.
“I think we wanted more equality between the different assistant coaches, so we didn't go down that path specifically.
“That's part of the gig. You accept that as a club and most clubs do, so we'd wish him all the best if he does it.
“We sort of hope, quietly, that he doesn't, but if he does, we'll back him 100%.”
The Saints will kickstart Round 19 when they travel down the Princes Highway to take on Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on Thursday night.
The match is scheduled to start at 7:30pm AEST.
