Scott along with his twin brother Brad was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to parents Colin and Lynne.

[1] His St Kevin’s school fees were aided by Legacy, due to the circumstances of his fathers death when he was eight years old.

[3][4] During Brisbane Lions's three-peat era, Scott was part of a powerful backline also containing Mal Michael, Chris Johnson and Justin Leppitsch.

Brisbane's round 22, 2007 match against Geelong on 1 September 2007 became his last, after he announced his retirement from his playing career a few days earlier on 28 August 2007.

On 18 October 2010, it was officially announced by the Geelong Football Club that Scott would be their senior coach, following Mark Thompson's resignation at the end of the 2010 season.

[11][12] Scott had a brilliant start to his AFL coaching career, with Geelong winning its first thirteen matches of the 2011 season.

In August 2014, Scott signed a two-year contract extension extending his tenure as senior coach of Geelong until the end of 2017.

[14] In August 2018, Scott signed a four-year contract extension extending his tenure as senior coach of Geelong until the end of 2022.