Great “recruitment & retention” strategy…best facilities in the league with the best development coaching setup in the league.
Essendon creates a position for a new development coach
Essendon are looking to bring another new face into their football department and have advertised for an additional development coach.
Having already brought in Mark Neeld, and welcomed back senior coach James Hird and senior assistant Mark Harvey since their 2014 campaign, the Bombers have decided to spend leftover funds in their football department budget by creating another role.
The successful candidate will receive a two-year contract, and will report directly to the head of player development, Neeld, who was hired late last year.
The general manager of football performance, Neil Craig, said the decision to create the opening came after careful consideration that involved himself, Hird, Neeld, and football department chief Rob Kerr.
“In the end we’ve decided to spend some additional money that we’ve got available in the area of player development, and increase the resources in the particular area,” Craig said on Saturday.
Craig highlighted that Essendon still wants to avoid being fined for exceeding the $10.07 million football department salary cap, and had to be more discerning about how they used their resources.
“One of the beauties of the soft cap for the competition at the moment is that it’s certainly created a situation where clubs have to sit down and see where they do spend their money - where you can get the biggest return.”
The former Adelaide and Melbourne coach added that the new person would not work exclusively with the club’s young players, but rather seek to develop the entire list. The role will also entail work with the club’s VFL team.
Craig believed that the area of development had been “under-resourced” since he joined the Bombers at at the end of 2013.
Essendon will look both internally and externally to fill the role, but may appoint someone from another department at the club. Applications close on Wednesday.