Hirdy might be coach through virtue of being the only candidate.
2 Likes
Itâs a delicate balance.
Coaches (particularly second time ones) need to tread a pretty fine line if they want a gig. Ideally they want to make their decisions look strategic and not scatter gun chasing after any gig available (I think Yze suffered from this).
In this case you also need to consider that there are 3 job opportunities open (which rarely happens) - they donât want to publicly commit to Essendon while also speaking to Carlton, for example.
The other consideration is that many have current jobs as assistants at clubs which want to compete for finals/the premiership this year. They donât want to make a public circus by delcaring their interest in another job while trying to honour their current role and keep their club focused.
Hird is in a pretty unique position as he seemingly only has interest (or feels entitled to?) one job and isnât working at AFL level, so has a bit more space to go all in publicly.
2 Likes
What is the process? Does the club make a shortlist and invite only those on the list to apply or can anyone put in an application?
That wonât be the case if the club wants to speak to coaches - good people will.
You are not wanting to go from a 150-200k job to a million dollar a year gig?
Itâs only the guys who donât need the money. The Longmire, Hinkleys etc of this world.
It was tongue in cheek 
1 Like
One of my mates knows him quite well.
Heâs a ripping bloke. He is a brutally honest guy, who is excellent at building relationship with people. He also loves honest feedback. heâs just one of those people who goes from having a laugh with you, to telling you exactly the things youâve f*cked up on. Apparently its pretty intense. He just refuses to shy away from tough conversations. Heâs also an extrovert, which I donât think weâve had since Sheedy.
You also have to remember that Kelly is good mates with McGrath. So youâll have an excellent coach-captain partnership.
I donât know much about Enright.
7 Likes
I think you can call Welsh direct and say hey I am keen to talk though. No one knows about it besides Welsh. Maybe they have in saying that and playing it cool publicly. We had to convince Brad Scott to coachâŚjust dont want that situation again.
2 Likes
Also:
17 Likes
Totally agree, but as you say, we have no idea what calls are being made privately.
Iâd be HUGELY surprised if we havenât already scoped out prospective candidates.
1 Like
I didnât like it either, was like Ross the Boss last time. Waiting for the phone to ring.
The only one publicly saying they want it is Hird. But behind the scenes, nobody knows who has been in contact.
I would have loved for Hird to have come out and said that I have no desire whatsoever to be Essendon Head Coach, but I love the club and hope whoever is selected as head coach can find me a role to help unite the club and develop the younger players.
2 Likes
I wouldnât be holding up Steven King and Melbourne as a success story just yet. Massive question marks on the Dees list and trajectory despite this little early season bump.
1 Like
This is 80% of why i want him in the seat.
Those wavy arms!
2 Likes
Yeah, Max Gawn is still carrying that side
Thatâs the thing I guess. Most of these points supporting Kelly could just as easily be applied to James Hird.
1 Like
Interestingly, if you used 20 years instead of 25 (to account for premierships that Josh Carr and Dean Cox won as players), over a quarter of the current senior coaches fall into that bucketâŚIâm not saying theyâre all great coaches, just a higher number than I wouldâve expected.
So your flavour of vibes is better than others got it.
Cox went from last playing in a prelim (ie won final/s) with WCE in 2011, to assistant coaching at Swans for finals runs in 2017, 2018, the GF in 2022 etc. So has been involved in some success at 2 different clubs.
Carr last played in a finals run in 2006 but coached finals in 2013, 2014, SANFL flag coach in 2018, few years at Freo, then port finals assistant coach 2023 & 2024. So has been part of good records & finals wins at 3 different clubs across the last 20-25 years.
Both are what Iâd call pretty solid resumes.
Again, âhaterâ speak, why would anyone be interviewed if theyâd not been involved in a finals win (other than under 8s) since 2004 ?
3 Likes
I think they are all sitting back waiting for Essendon to announce what their process is and thereâs a fair amount of uncertainty around as to whether there will be an open process or if we just appoint someone.
Even Hirdy said he hadnât reached out to the club yet didnât he? I think your concern on finding someone actually keen for the role is valid, but I wouldnât read too much into coaches sitting back and waiting to see how things settle while also answering a question honestly. âHas Essendon contacted you?â, âNo, not yetâ. That doesnât mean the coach isnât interested.
3 Likes