Essendon legend Tim Watson says he’d be “more than surprised” if James Hird became the club’s next senior coach, but believes he’s entitled to go through the interview process.
It was confirmed on Wednesday that Hird was one of four candidates to be interviewed by the Bombers selection committee for the vacancy, with Hawks legend Jordan Lewis, who’s part of the six-person panel, saying he was “impressed” by all four applicants.
The interview comes seven years after Hird departed Essendon midway through the 2015 season during the infamous supplements saga, having only returned to club land this year in a part-time role at GWS.
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And the Bombers are now looking for their third full-time coach since Hird’s exit after parting ways with Ben Rutten amid a chaotic shake-up this off-season that’s also included David Barham taking over as president and several board members departing as well as CEO Xavier Campbell’s resignation.
Speaking on SEN radio, Watson didn’t think dual premiership player and former skipper Hird had to be the figure to unify the club and lead it back to success.
“Let’s say Essendon is broken, what would unite a club will be success,” Watson said on SEN Breakfast.
“It doesn’t have to come from James Hird being the coach of the Essendon Football Club to unite Essendon. The club would’ve been united under Ben Rutten and John Worsfold had they been more successful.
“We don’t need a saviour to come back to the Essendon Football Club and unite the Essendon Football Club. We need somebody who’s able to put a plan of action in place that’s able to deliver success and to start to build a successful team again.
“I’m not surprised at all they would interview him if he would put his hand up and said, ‘yes, I do want to be interviewed, I do want to go through the process’.”
Asked if there was too much baggage to carry back into the club, Watson admitted: “There is that.
“But I think if this process is set up correctly, then if he put his hand up and said he wanted to be interviewed, I would‘ve thought they were always going to interview him given his unique connection to the Essendon Football Club.
“That doesn’t mean he’s going to get the job, he’s got to go through the process like everybody else.
“He hasn’t coached since 2015, he wasn‘t a successful coach back then, although there’s unusual circumstances around all that.
“Maybe the sum of his experiences he’s had away from the game since then and what he’s been doing has allowed him to maybe develop a unique set of man management skills. He’s a super intelligent bloke, and all that would be unveiled through the interviewing process.
“It gives that group somebody else to interview, but also somebody else to measure the other candidates against.”
Watson believes ultimately the supplements saga has likely left too many scars despite Lewis revealing on Fox Footy Hird’s past wouldn’t be used against him in the selection process.
“I think for a lot of people it would drag back all those things that happened during that period of time that he was there as coach,” Watson said.
“I’d be more than surprised if he ended being the coach of the Essendon Football Club, but I’m happy for him to be part of the process and for him to have the courage to put his hand up and even go through it.
“He would’ve known what this would’ve attracted, once it became public knowledge, he would’ve known it puts him right out there in the conversation again, which he has wanted to shy away from and avoid for a long time.
Reports state that Demons assistant Adem Yze, Saints assistant Brendon Lade, AFL football operations boss and former North Melbourne coach Brad Scott as well as ex-Adelaide boss turned Sydney assistant Don Pyke are the other contenders for the role.
Chief Herald Sun reporter Mark Robinson, who first broke the news of Hird’s interview, even revealed that it was the club that initially reached out to him.
However AFL Media journalist Damian Barrett slammed the decision for the Bombers to go back down the Hird path given he was coach during some of their darkest days.
“Here we go again, the Essendon Football Club heading down the path of delusion,” he said on AFL Daily.
“I’m not surprised because of the club in question being the Essendon Football Club, who has got an adherence to the cult-like people that have entered their fray and have been so successful.
“There’s been no one arguably more successful than James Hird’s time as a player at Essendon. But his time as a coach was a disgrace period in the context of the AFL, it was a disgrace period for Essendon, and everyone realises that except for some Essendon people.”
Richmond legend Matthew Richardson also doesn’t think Essendon should proceed with a Hird reunion and implored the club to follow the assistant coach “blueprint” of other teams, pointing to the success of recent premiership bosses Simon Goodwin, Damien Hardwick, Adan Simpson, Luke Beveridge and John Longmire.
“That is just the way you have to do it now, even if you look at the recent young coaches that have come in that have started to have success in (Justin) Longmuir and Craig McRae this year, they were long-time assistants and went through the process,” he said on 3AW’s Sportsday.
“James Hird is a champion of the game. What’s happened has happened, he does deserve a second chance and he’s got every right to apply. But he hasn’t been involved at clubland at the coalface for seven years now, a little bit this year.
“But footy has changed, it’s about relationship building now, look at what Craig McRae’s doing, players love him.
“It’s about really strong bonds and relationships, a lot’s changed, I just think it’d be a big, big call. I just think you’ve got to go through the process and find the next one of those guys I was talking about.
“I’m not sure James fits that category.”
