As the siren sounded at Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening to confirm Adelaide’s 112-point drubbing of Essendon, the writing on the wall was clear; James Hird should have been moved along a while ago.
After what was another chapter in the tumultuous year that has been for Essendon, it’s almost glaringly obvious that the Bombers have held on to Hird for too long.
JAMES HIRD RESIGNS AS ESSENDON COACH
In hindsight, Hird was probably an odd choice to replace Matthew Knights at the helm back in 2011.
There was no denying Hird’s ability as a footballer. Five All-Australians, a Brownlow medal, a Norm Smith medal and the 2000 Premiership are all a testament to the sheer quality of Hird the player, not to mention the five Essendon Best and Fairest awards and two Bombers’ leading goal kicker awards he won.
He captained the club, and showed unbelievable courage and determination to persevere through the litany of injuries he suffered, the most horrific of which was back in 2002 in Perth, where his face collapsed after a collision with a teammate. He was much loved by Bombers supporters and the wider footballing community alike, and understandably so.
That being said, that should not have been enough to qualify Hird for the role of coach at Windy Hill. No one could ever fill the shoes of the great Kevin Sheedy, his time at the club left a legacy at the Bombers, and setting the bar high for those who came directly after him. Though it is probably extremely unfair to compare Hird, or even Knights, to Sheedy.
But it’s clear to see that neither of these former great players were fit or experienced enough to continue the good work that Sheedy had done during his reign. Hird traded on his ‘favourite son’, ‘Brownlow medalist’ and ‘Premiership captain’ tags, and did not have the experience or an apprenticeship at a successful club like most coaches who do well in the modern game do.
Despite this, Hird did well in his first year. In 2011, Hird was like the grand old Duke of York. He marched Essendon toward the top of the ladder, before a slide back down to the bottom, which was followed by a climb back halfway up into the eight where the Bombers lost to Carlton in an elimination final.
Despite an extraordinary start to the 2012 season, the Bombers crashed to 11th by the end of the year, and suddenly questions about Hird’s ability to coach were being asked. Then of course came the now infamous Essendon drugs scandal which saw Essendon booted out of the finals series in 2013, and Hird’s suspension, which he spent in the south of France.
The scandal saw the end of both Stephen Dank and ‘The Weapon’, and really should have spelled the end of Hird too. It is incredulous to think that a club would keep a man in power who, whether the Bombers were guilty or not, exposed the club to such speculation and negative media attention. As head coach, the buck should have stopped with Hird in this saga, but for whatever reason, the Bombers chose to keep him.
Now, however, Essendon’s chickens have come home to roost. On paper, the Bombers are a very good team who qualified for the finals in both 2013 and 2014. The likes of Jobe Watson, Dyson Heppell, Brendon Goddard and Michael Hurley, all very good players in their own right, were bolstered by the inclusions of Paul Chapman and Adam Cooney, and the rise of youngsters Joe Daniher, Marty Gleeson and Zach Merrett.
Elsewhere on the field, the Bombers are a talented outfit. Clearly, these Bombers are not playing their best football under Hird. It’s easy to speculate what it is exactly that the players don’t like; some have suggested they’re extremely fatigued by the continuing WADA investigation and the constant media hype, others have suggested it has more to do with player dissatisfaction with Hird’s structures and game plans.
It may be a dangerous combination of the two. Regardless, Hird ultimately needs to accept responsibility for the fact that his decisions have led to the rapid failure of this football team.
With three rounds to go in the 2015 season, it’s unlikely that Hird’s contract will be terminated at Thursday’s board meeting. However, if Essendon were to continue with Hird at the helm, it would be a slap in the face of all those who want to see the Bombers do well.
Paul D
Roar Guru
Sorry, I don’t believe you for a moment. Nothing you have said or done indicates any sort of insider knowledge – and in any event, we’re not exactly discussing ASIO state secrets here. Everything about your profile screams troll. My suggestion would be just write. Voice your opinion same as everyone else, and be treated on the merits of your argument. But don’t go around claiming to be some sort of AFL guru with a network of sources you can’t possibly prove or verify – all you’re going to do is invite ridicule and scorn. Besides, if I was actually an expert writing under a nom de plume the last thing I’d be doing is going around telling everyone I’m an AFL INSIDER BUT SHHHH IT’S A SECRET. Utterly defeats the point of the exercise.
TomC
Roar Guru
Not to mention that this is obviously someone who's been active on The Roar for quite some time, writing under a different name. I for one am in absolutely no doubt that 'Edgar Slosh' has no inside sources of any note, nor does he have any reputation that would require him to be careful about what he says. He is a typical keyboard warrior of exactly the type that is overwhelming the comments sections on this site. An alias empowers him to be more aggressive and unpleasant than he otherwise would be. He suggests we don't read what he writes and then overwhelms us with 6 articles (that haven't been removed, at least) and 85 comments in the eight days he's been here, so discussion without his input becomes impossible. This is a very ordinary individual, whose mission appears to be to prevent others from enjoying sites like this one. Sadly, he is succeeding as far as I'm concerned.
Edgar Slosh
Roar Guru
Heres the thing, Paul. I can write under any name I want to.Its a writers best friend. A nom de plume can be used to make someone more distinctive but also it doesnt interfere with other aspects of my career. It also helps to write about what I know without exposing the sources of what I hear. I have to be very careful about what I say, where I say it or hear it. I'm not in the business of burning bridges and am happy to continue writing about what I love. If that upsets you I suggest you dont read what I write. Thanks for your input
Greg
Guest
So much for the review. They didn't even wait to finish it before reaching the "considered" conclusion Lord Jim had to be scuppered.
slane
Guest
Then Hirdy quits and once again I have proven I don't know what I'm talking about.
Paul D
Roar Guru
See, here’s the thing Edgar. You’re strutting around like you’re an AFL insider, yet most of your writing is scurrilous grab bags of rumours. It’s hard to take someone at face value as an authoritative AFL source when they’re hiding behind a fake name and a muppet (literally) for an avatar. I think if you want to make claims based on your apparent superior knowledge of what goes in the halls of AFL power, you’d have to write under your real identity to be believed. Plenty of who’s who in the sporting world write on the Roar as themselves. You should try it.
Hansie
Guest
So Demetriou is responsible for the "pharmacologically experimental environment" at Essendon?
Milo
Roar Rookie
Nah mate hes gone now. Official announcement at 3.15. Get over it.
Dean
Guest
Not many of them would be secure enough to be throwing around barbs, maybe off the record. When coaches go, it's usually the older players with big, long contracts with the most to say. The plethora of Bombers out of contract would do well to keep their traps shut with a new coach about to come on board.
Edgar Slosh
Roar Guru
Just received a phone call saying Hird has resigned
Dean
Guest
incorrect
Dean
Guest
I think Hurley, Pears, Hooker, Daniher is a cracking spine and very promising for the future, Carlisle will probably be gone, but he's barely contributed. I agree that Weagles have a better one, but most of them are at their peak in terms of age and games. If you have a look at the stats, key forwards don't kick bags against the bombers. The bulldogs comparison is a good one, have a look where they were at over the last two years and I'd say they were in about the same shape as Essendon were for the first half of this year. The wheels definitely fell off this year, the game plan is shot, and now the coach is gone. I can't see Essendon going too much lower, though. Key position players are the hardest to get and that part of the equation is mostly sorted.
Edgar Slosh
Roar Guru
No, its back. And the truth isnt libel.
144
Roar Guru
Well in respect to the club and the position that they are in, should they be offloading him or not. My opinion is yes. Some say that the fault is because of certain players in regard to where their position is on the ladder or how the team is performing in general. And it's no secret that the teams slump is because of the drug scandal.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
I wonder if players finally start to open up about their feelings for Hird. It's very unwise for any player to publicly criticise their current coach, but their former coach, well that's a different matter ... Maybe after all this time they still wont, because they're sick of thinking about it
jax
Guest
He does but not for the things you mentioned.
Brad
Guest
Give the man 10 years
Paul D
Roar Guru
Well, I nailed my colours to the wrong mast. But not much Essendon has done has made sense over the past few years so I suppose I should have known they'd pull a move out of left field like this one. The relationship between coach and players must be feral for them to pull the trigger at this point during the season.
Wilson
Roar Guru
Triple M saying that Hird could be gone by the end of the day but the source is the Fairfax media group so it could be completely wrong
Christo the Daddyo
Guest
And just like that... he's gone. Finally the club can move on from this whole sorry saga.