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Australian sport currently has a scenario in which a coach who probably should be fired will keep his job, and a coach who probably should keep his job will be fired.
The AFL met yesterday to decide the fate of the Essendon Bombers, and the punishments they will receive for their controversial supplements program in 2012. At the centre of the story is Bombers legend James Hird, who, as head coach, is accountable for what goes on at the club.
Meanwhile, in the NRL, five weeks ago the North Queensland Cowboys told head coach Neil Henry that his services would not be required next season. The coach and his side have responded by winning four straight games, are the hottest team in the competition, and now find themselves in the top eight, primed to qualify for the finals.
Considering the circumstances, you could easily argue that Hird should be fired, and Henry should be re-hired.
The Hird story has been well covered elsewhere, so there is no need to go over old ground. He’s facing a 12-month ban, after which the club has said they would reinstate him, but considering the lack of duty of care for his players, many believe that Hird should lose his job.
Though he has often claimed his innocence, the fact is that he oversaw the administering of substances that were, at worst, illegal, and at best, questionable. Either way, he’s let down his players, his club and the AFL, and will face the repercussions.
Whatever went on at Essendon was either illegal, or borderline illegal, and if people want to argue that Hird deserves to be sacked for being in charge of it, I would find it very hard to counter.
Conversely, Henry deserves credit for turning the Cowboys season around. That credit can come in the form of re-signing the coach for next year.
The word coming out of Townsville is that Henry has been the complete professional and handled his axing with class. Rather than sulking, he’s approached his job with the same diligence and thoroughness as he always as, yet with one crucial difference: he’s relaxed a little.
With the rumours and innuendo surrounding his future at the club now over, the pressure has been lifted, which has resulted in a more relaxed Henry, who has created a new carefree culture at the club.
The team is playing with freedom, and it shows in their football. The Cowboys have been throwing the ball around and piling on the points. They’ve clearly been enjoying their footy, and most importantly, they have been winning.
It should be a lesson to Henry that keeping your players loose and stress-free can be just as important as the ensuring their physically prepared and armed with a game-plan.
The Cowboys players felt responsible when it was announced that Henry would not be at the club next season, believing that they had let him down. They’re determined to make-up for it by finishing the season strongly and sneaking into the finals.
But why not just keep Henry?
Obviously there is a danger that the Cowboys recent success is due to their unique situation, and may not be replicated just by keeping Henry on. But if the coach has learnt from the experience, and with the knowledge the players never really wanted him gone anyway, it wouldn’t be the worst idea for the club to simply hire Henry again.
Staying with rugby league coaches for a second, and a story surfaced over the weekend that the Canberra Raiders are ready to offer Ricky Stuart a seven year contract worth a million dollars a season.
Though it’s just a loud whisper at the moment, there are so many things wrong with this story that I don’t even know where to begin.
Firstly, Stuart already has a job. He’s only one year in to a three-year contract with the Parramatta Eels, and considering that he has gutted the playing squad for next year, it would be a disgrace if he then left the club in the state it’s in now.
Canberra fans are angry at the Brisbane Broncos for Anthony Milford being linked with the club when the young player already has a contract with the Raiders. Yet that would seem slightly hypocritical if their club is chasing a coach who already has a contract with another team as well.
And a seven year, million dollar a season contract for Ricky Stuart? Really?
The same Ricky Stuart who lost the World Cup with one of the most talented Australian teams of all time? The same Ricky Stuart who has left two NRL clubs prematurely? The same Ricky Stuart who has his current team on the bottom of the ladder with a minus 370 points differential? The same Ricky Stuart whose tactics at Origin were heavily criticised?
I honestly think Stuart is a touch overrated as a rugby league coach. But ‘Sticky’ being offered a seven year contract worth a million dollars a season would cause me to remove ‘a touch’ from that previous sentence.
I’m not sure any coach is worth a million dollars a season. And I think it’s completely irresponsible to offer any coach a seven-year deal.
Yet when that coach is Ricky Stuart, I think it’s completely and utterly ridiculous.