You'd be surprised at how important having good assistants are.
Take the analogy of a captain. Saying that the head coach is solely responsible for a team being horrible is like saying that the captain of the team is solely responsible for the downfall of the team's onfield performance.
I imagine that the coaches panel are a team, so it makes sense that they think as a team, have discussions as a team and make decisions as a team.
Brendon Bolton also once said that the head coach gets too much credit for the good performances, and cops too much flack for the bad performances, and I'd say that it is because of this reason.
However, I don't think Hardwick should be the one partaking in the interview. It should be people unrelated to the club who are knowledgeable in modern football.
I THINK the point some are trying to make (not downplaying the importance of good assistants as they are) is never in the history of the game has such focus gone on 'under-performing' assistants. The buck always has and always will stops with the coach.
I could be wrong, but when McCartney was sent packing from the Bulldogs, there was not talk of widespread assistant changes or blokes under-performing. John Barker, who was an assistant under Malthouse and took over before Bolton's appointment is still at the Blues and no one talks down his input. an exodus of assistants wasn't apparent when Scott Watters bit the bullet at St Kilda. Don Pyke is operating with many of the same assistants at Adelaide that were there when Walsh and Sanderson were there.
So why does Hardwick seemingly get absolved from all blame and assistants must bear the wrath for a pear-shaped season? It's pure hypocriosy.
Taking it to another level, we had Watson - Hardwick's mate - o SEN the other day criticising the Bulldogs for extending Beveridge's contract, yet openly petitioned for a guy with zero finals wins to get a contract extension at the end of 2015 and continues to say he should be allowed to coach until the end of 2019.
Hardwick has a lot of Essendon mates in the media who keep pumping his tyres. Finally one, Lloydy said on Monday night 'enough is enough' he's got to go.
But no, it's the assistants who have to go.