Kevin Sheedy. There is something in the name that denotes the battler, the unconquerable spirit, the player and the coach who gave Australian Rules everything right up to the final whistle.
As a player he won three VFL Premierships. And as a coach there were the back-to-back Premierships in 1984 and 1985, and two more in 1993 and 2000. But coaches, especially are only as good as their last game, or their last couple of seasons in the case of a champion like Sheedy.
Even though his winning record of qualifying for the finals in 19 of 26 seasons is awesome and his winning record is not likely to be broken for many years, two poor seasons with only three wins in 2006 and eight this year was enough for the Essendon board.
It’s said that great coaches don’t suddenly become poor coaches. And Sheedy is still probably a good coach. But a great coach as he has been over the decades since he first came to Essendon in 1981, probably not. And probably never again.
So although the decision to sack Sheedy was the equivalent of shooting ‘old shep,’ it was a decision that needed to be taken. It was made easier by the fact that three other clubs are in the market for coaches. At least now, Essendon will be able to contest their first choice rather than a fourth choice, perhaps, if they had waited until the end of the season to start their search.
There is a hard truth about coaches in all sports: they are in the process of being sacked or will be sacked in the future, unless they get out in time. Sheedy refused to see the signs that his coaching powers were waning quickly, at least at Essendon.
He stayed too long. There has not been any mercy shown even though he is an AFL icon. Nor should there have been. Time withers everything. As Shakespeare wrote, ‘Golden boys and girls all must/Like chimney sweeps return to dust.’
Dan Fitzgerald
Guest
Sheeds outstayed his own record. I heard him as a guest speaker when he was at 21 years with the club. He was as always very entertaining. He cited his record which then was awesome as a coach. 21 years,7 grand finals,4 flags (and 2 lost preliminary finals where they should have made it through). As Sheeds said then,"I'm there once every 3 years and once you're there,anything can happen". The average has since blown out a bit - but a legand nonetheless.
Matt
Guest
There's a pretty good article on Kevin Sheedy in one of the Sunday papers...the overwhelming impression you get is of an optimist who tries to see the good/possibilities in everything/everyone. I would put Rod Macqueen in the same basket, always trying to be positive, innovative and above all pro-active. I think it was Macqueen who said "If you're being re-active you've been left behind..." don't quote me word for word but that determination to always be setting the trends and have others second guess you (a Sheedy characteristic) is an admirable quality in any coach. Unfortunately Kevin Sheedy, with the cattle he had at his disposal could only be optimistic for so long. It's true to say that even the great coaches have some pretty decent players to thank for their successes and it appears Sheedy is finding that to be true. It makes you wonder how Greg Smith got things so wrong with essentially the same players as Rod Macqueen or Chris Anderson as opposed to Freddie Fittler. I could be accused of being biased but in my opinion Rod Macqueen is the finest coach we've had in either code (league or union) in the last ten years. Spiro made a great point in his RWC guide that Macqueen didn't rely on coaching to make a living so was not restricted or fearful of making a career ending mistake. This probably explains his calm demeanour...that and having stared death in the face probably led him to believe that worse things can happen than a loss. What I think was one of the best aspects of his coaching was the way he had his teams so beautifully coached to take full advantage of the rules...the sign of a coach who knew his game inside and out. Even though he will probably be remembered for giving his sides disciplined structures in both attack and defence, he gave us in the NSW side of '91 a side that played some absolutely brilliant running rugby...a side that arguably set the tone for the WC winning Wallabies of the same year. Anyway, enough on Rod Macqueen...Even though I don't follow AFL I always stopped to watch if Kevin Sheedy was on the box...always interesting, cryptic, but interesting.
Spiro Zavos
Expert
I know Grant Harding. He's an excellent NZ rugby broadcaster and writer. But he is wrong on the 1999 World Cup semi-final between Australia and South Africa. Although no tries were scored it was a pulsating, tough and, in the end, thrilling contest. You don't have to have tries scored to have great rugby. And this was a great rugby test with John Eales calling himself in the lineouts when the Springboks were smashing the other Wallaby jumpers. I would rate Rod Macqueen as the best coach in world rugby in the professional era. He created the Brumbies franchise from the left-overs of NSW and Queensland. Then he took the Wallabies after they'd been thrashed at Pretoria in 1997, with the Springboks scoring over 40 points in the second half. Thirteen of the players involved in the Pretoria debacle were on the field at Cardiff for the final of the 1999 World Cup. Macqueen falls into the category of a mentor-coach. He very much believed in players being taught to think for themselves on and off the field. He was innovative with the training camp concept for the Wallabies. And in these camps the players were expected to do their own cooking, laundry and so on. They weren't pampered. They were beautifully prepared. Macqueen was excellent at identifying the correct strategy for a particular game, and then getting the players to put it into operation. In the 1999 World Cup final Olivier Magne, the French loose forward who dominated the All Blacks in the semi-final, was identified as THE threat the Wallabies had to nullify. So in the first 10 minutes of the final the big Wallaby forwards ran at him every play, forcing him to make touh tackles. Magne broke his nose in one of the collisions and was virtually a passenger for the rest of the final.
sheek
Guest
Spiro, How would you describe Rod MacQueen? He was a larger than life figure in rugby & surfing circles. Likeable but irritating rogue is a word that might adequately describe him in his youth. When coach of NSW in the early 90s & ACT in the mid 90s, he encouraged an expansive & innovative style. But as Wallaby coach, he became increasingly conservative following some erratic performances by his golden charges in the 3N of 1999. In the wonderful book, 'Toughest Of Them All; New Zealand & South Africa: The Battle For Rugby Supremecy', co-author Grant Harding(NZ) made this poignant observation: "Before the tournament (1999) I wrote in 'Rugby News World cup Previe 99': "Australia have the talent to cut any side to pieces, but they have adapted a style based on the laws. Low risk rugby backed by astonishing defence. It could be they're selling themselves short when they have gifted backs. Perhaps not, given the preponderance of penalties in the modern game". Remember, the wallabies scored no tries against the drop-goaled obsessed Springboks in their bleak semi-final, in which the only excitement came from the closeness of the score. And, in the final, tries only became an option for the Wallabies once the match had been won." I will consider this for another thread.
Spiro Zavos
Expert
I think the length of time with a club in any sport has a lot to do with the style of coaching of the club. The mentor types like Kevin Sheedy and Wayne Bennett can be set, if they are successful, for long stints. The attention-to-detail coaches who are at their players all the time and never give them a moments rest or peace have a shorter life-span as coaches. I would place Ricky Stuart in this category. The epitome of the dominating coach was Alan Jones. His style usually led to early successes but the success tended to fade away as the players got increasingly annoyed with the constant hectoring of instruction ands phone calls day and night. My guess is that Paul Roos is a mentoring type of coach. But even he has foreshadowed leaving the Swans before his welcome wears out. Jack Gibson said many interesting things about coaching. One of them has stuck in my memory: 'Players who become coaches usually try to coach their players to be the opposite of what they were.' I've notice, for instance, that players who used to eschew training become fanatical about their players training rigorously when they become coaches. Dour players often coach teams to play in an expansive style.
sheek
Guest
Kevin Sheedy & Wayne Bennett are examples of coaches who have remained at the one club for over 20 years (this is Bennett's 20th at the Brisbane Broncos). I also read today that legendary Collingwood coach Jock McHale was in his position at the Magpies through two world wars - 1912 to 1949! On the other hand, the legendary rugby league coach, Jack Gibson, believed in staying no longer than 3 years at ony one club. His argument apparently being, that the magic wore off after 3 years, & players got sick of listening to the same voice. If this is so, it is then all the more remarkable for those coaches who have managed to stay at the one club for such a long time, & be continually successful.