Essendon have confirmed they met with former Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams as the AFL club seeks new assistants.

Head coach Matthew Knights and football manager Paul Hamilton sat down with Williams on Wednesday while he was visiting Melbourne.

"We knew Mark was in Melbourne today so Matthew and I took the opportunity to catch up and see where he was at in terms of his career," Hamilton said in a club statement.

"We obviously have coaching positions available for next season following the resignations of Ashley Prescott and Scott Camporeale.

"We will explore a number of options over the coming weeks to ensure we fill those positions with the best possible candidates."

There is an obvious risk to Knights' future at the club if Williams, an AFL premiership coach, joins the Essendon football department.

Williams' future in football remains unclear after he left the Power early last month.

There has been speculation linking him to an assistant role under Greater Western Sydney coach Kevin Sheedy, which he has denied.

Williams has history with the Bombers - he was an assistant there under Sheedy before Port joined the AFL.

He was an assistant to Port's inaugural AFL coach John Cahill before taking over the main role from 1999.

Williams coached Port to their only AFL premiership in 2004 during his 11 and a half years in charge.

Essendon announced last week that Camporeale and Prescott would leave their jobs at the end of the season for family reasons.

The Bombers have largely struggled this year after making last season's finals.

A 76-point thrashing from arch-rivals Carlton last Friday night left Essendon 12th with seven wins from 19 matches.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP