Sam Mitchell has steered clear of Brad Scott's bombshell revelation that he would have let Zach Merrett go to Hawthorn, calling it good TV.
In his first interview since being sacked as Essendon coach, Scott said on Tuesday night that he was in favour of Merrett being traded to Hawthorn last year - and still is.
The turmoil at Essendon, plus Merrett's comments in support of James Hird, add to the intrigue about the AFL playing future of the former Bombers captain.
Essendon blocked Merrett's attempt to join Hawthorn in last year's trade period. The speculation is that he will try to leave again at the end of this season, despite having another year left on his contract.
Mitchell offered no insight on whether Hawthorn will try again to recruit Merrett, who would be a significant boost for their midfield.
"It was an interesting comment (from Scott). When you hear the coach say he wanted something different from the football club, it's not completely unexpected, I suppose," Mitchell said on Wednesday.
"But hearing it publicly like that was interesting.
"We obviously had a fair bit of interest in Zach ... that didn't come to fruition, which was out of our control, we thought.
"So we'll soldier on with this year and see how we can go, and make sure we're giving ourselves the best chances and we'll see if we can improve our list later on.
"I was a bit like everyone else - good TV."
Merrett would not talk about his future on Tuesday night, hours after Scott was sacked, and steered clear of Hird potentially returning as Essendon coach.
But Merrett praised Hird as a mentor.
"I can only go off our relationship. It's very strong," Merrett said of Hird.
"He's been a great mentor and someone I can always confide in.
"From that perspective, I really get on well with him. He's a got a great viewpoint on the game.
"In terms of coaching, it's just such a good one for headlines. I'm not sure if it will eventuate or not."
