Former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy says he would support club legend James Hird’s return to role
Kevin Sheedy says he will not actively campaign for the return of James Hird, but the revered Essendon coach remains firm in his belief the club legend is the best man to lead the Bombers.
Kevin Sheedy says he will not actively campaign for the return of James Hird, but the revered Essendon coach remains firm in his belief the club legend is the best man to lead the Bombers.
Hird, one of the club’s most decorated players, coached Essendon from 2011 to 2015 but his time in charge of the club was marred by their supplements saga, for which he served a one-year ban from coaching handed down by the AFL in 2014.
He was interviewed as part of Essendon’s search for a coach in 2023 but ultimately lost out to Brad Scott, who was sacked by the club on Tuesday after a nightmare run of only one win from their last 24 games.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.On Tuesday night, Hird confirmed he wanted to coach the club again and he was willing to once more go through their process.
Sheedy — was the sole member of the Bombers’ board to vote against the appointment of Scott in 2023 and quickly went public with his support for Hird — said his view was “to coach Essendon, you’ve got to love Essendon”.
“I’m not out there canvassing for anybody,” Sheedy told SEN.
“Once he gets the job, I would help him. If he got it.
“He may not get it, there might be people at Essendon that may never want him to coach Essendon. I don’t know who they are, but I think in the end the people and the fans most likely do.
“I don’t know what the sort of feeling is around town but I would think that if he got a chance, he wouldn’t muck this one up.”
When asked why he thought Hird’s return would prove a good move, Sheedy replied: “You’d probably say that it would keep the place a bit calmer than where it’s been, I would think.”
“I left Essendon off the board a couple of years back or about that. But I can see that happening at the time when Brad and James Hird went for the interviews. In many ways we’re three years down the track and we haven’t gone any further, probably gone worse,” he said.
“Without pushing Hird’s barrow, if he was wanting to go and coach the job, I would vote for him in my membership vote, simple as that.
“It’s up to the board and the president to make that decision. Andrew Welsh is the president and he lives and dies by his own decisions.”
