Paul Little, the businessman and former Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman who led Essendon after the damaging supplements regime, says he has not ruled out a return to the Bombers board should the current administration falter.
Whether Little would bring his friend and former coach James Hird with him is less certain, after Hird expressed surprise when it was reported he could stage a stunning return as coach.
Paul Little in 2015 in his then role as Essendon president, with then coach James Hird.Credit: Eddie Jim
The Little-Hird alliance is well known, but Seven’s Agenda Setters reported on Monday night that Little, who led the club from 2013-15, was open to a return to the board currently led by David Barham and that he could return with Hird in tow.
“You never say never to anything,” Little told Seven. “There may come a time when there is a need for a restructure.
“If I felt I could add value to the club, and if they felt I could help, then I would consider it.”
Asked about Hird, he said: “I consider him a friend both inside, but more importantly, outside of football”.
On Nine, owner of this masthead, where Hird is a Footy Classified panellist, Hird said in a statement: “It’s news to me and I haven’t spoken to Paul Little for months. I nearly fell of the couch when I heard it.”
Hird will be on the Tuesday night panel alongside current coach Brad Scott, who beat Hird to the job late in 2022.
Eyebrows were raised when the Bombers extended Scott’s contract early this season, a move the club said was all about stability as the Dons turn to the draft to strengthen their list after years of stagnation. The latest report will do little to foster stability, though.
Club great Matthew Lloyd said on Footy Classified: “It’s not good for the club. James obviously denied that, and you believe James in that situation, and this is what happens when you lose by 91 points, unfortunately things like this happen, whether it’s from a coterie member or someone around the club.”
“It’s the last thing those within the football club need because they just want to get on with being the club they hope to be.”
