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Coaching Staff Former Coach James Hird

Do you think Hird should coach Essendon again?

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Cringe.

Not at Hird or the great job he’s done getting himself back in good place, or even people praising Hird for that.

But Solly starting a tweet congratulating Scott and then most of the tweet being about Hird is a strange way to do it. Red Sash-like (hi Sash!) actually.
 

James Hird has quietly left GWS Giants, coaching return in doubt​

Football legend James Hird is reportedly without a job in football and is looking elsewhere following his quiet departure from GWS.



James Hird is reportedly without a job in football after quietly leaving the Giants.
As first reported by Code Sports, the Giants have confirmed Hird has left his position as a part-time assistant coach — and has not been working with the western Sydney club for some time.

Hird is now reportedly focusing on business interests outside of the AFL industry.
The Essendon legend returned to coaching in 2022 — seven years after his sacking as Bombers coach following the fallout to the infamous supplements scandal.

Hird was overlooked as a candidate to return to coach the Bombers after Ben Rutten was unceremoniously sacked last year.
The recruitment process was a disaster for the Bombers with Hird reportedly being told the job was his by senior figures at the club before the club ultimately handed the position to former North Melbourne coach Brad Scott.

The appointment caused a bitter split between factions on the Bombers’ board of directors.
Code Sports reports Hird did not return to the Giants since missing out on the Essendon job in October.
Hird was promoted to a more senior position with the Giants following Leon Cameron’s axing mid-way through the season. He had originally been hired as a leadership coaching consultant.

Caretaker coach Mark McVeigh then turned to Hird and former Essendon teammate Dean Solomon to help him through the 2022 season.
McVeigh applied for the senior coaching position — but the Giants ultimately handed the job to former Richmond assistant coach Adam Kingsley.
Kingsley signed a three-year deal after pipping Adam Yze for the job and quickly moved to make changes to the team’s coaching staff.

Former assistant coach and Geelong’s triple premiership great Steve Johnson was the first to go.

McVeigh also jumped ship to join the Swans.

Hird, meanwhile, appears to be back at square one in his coaching comeback. The 49-year-old said last year he was still hungry to coach at the top level and had particular interest in the Essendon job as a form of “redemption”.

Hird’s former teammate and Essenon legend Matthew Lloyd last year said Hird may be better off away from a senior coaching position.

“He’s obviously got the passion to coach. We saw him go through the process. How good would it be for him to go into another system for 12-24 months and get that coaching experience back,” Lloyd told AFL Trade Radio in October.

“To me, he’s doing so well in business, but this is what his passion is – it’s to coach.

“Once his playing days ended he wanted to be coach so it would be great to see him back. He missed out this time, but hopefully he can improve himself under somebody else.”

The Bombers and Giants will be among the most interesting stories of the 2023 AFL season after both clubs had disastrous campaigns in 2022.
 

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with Hird reportedly being told the job was his by senior figures at the club
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Er what? Or are they just talking about Sheeds?
 
Perhaps Brad can bring Hirdy down to training to show the boys how to tag a star player out of a grand final.

Seriously though, if he weren't going to destabilise the club with "power brokers" pushing for his return to the top job, Hird's dedication to working at his craft as a young player would be invaluable as a development coach.

One of the most challenging roles on the ground to make an impact is that midfielder playing half-forward. I would love to see Hird working with the young big-bodied mids who will be played across half-forward as youngsters. He could work wonders doing that.

However, if Hird is serious about becoming a coach somewhere else, he should get a gig coaching a VFL team, and then work his way back into the box as an assistant coach. A 5-year process like that and he might be ready to go as a senior coach. But as is stated above, why bother? The man owns a house in Toorak and wouldn't "need" to earn another dollar. Sit back on your laurels, and there are some pretty good laurels there, and enjoy some time away from the spotlight. I think he was unfairly held up as the scapegoat for a club-wide disaster. I think department managers and even Bomber Thompson hold more responsibility for what happened but, those are the breaks. He still got a better crack than any of us have at coaching this club!
 
Happy Birthday James:moustache::moustache:


Inside James Hird’s 50th birthday party celebrations​

Former Bombers player and coach James Hird has celebrated his 50th birthday at a party with friends and family that served up 700 meatballs.



Former Essendon player and coach James Hird has celebrated his 50th birthday surrounded by family and friends on Saturday.
Hird’s wife Tania posted pictures on social media of the special gathering at what looked like the family home in Toorak.

James Hird's birthday cake.

James Hird's birthday cake.

The accessories designer wrote a touching tribute to the recently departed GWS part-time assistant coach with whom she shares four children.
“An incredible week of preparation for the first day of the Melbourne Gift Fair, first week back at school and of course a 50th of family proportions!” she wrote on her Tania Hird Designs account.

James Hird celebrated surrounded by family and friends.

James Hird celebrated surrounded by family and friends.

“So proud of our family from my sister and brother in law who flew down for the affair and “wouldn’t miss it” no matter how hard to orchestrate, to Will, who helped me make 700 meatballs (James favourite comfort dish), home made garlic bread, peppermint slice and a birthday cake to rival the best during the week prior as I had to attend the gift fair for part of the day and needed to have everything made, set, wrapped and balloons picked up in advance.

The food on offer included 700 meatballs, James Hird’s favourite food.

The food on offer included 700 meatballs, James Hird’s favourite food.

Tania Hird posted pictures of the gathering on social media.

Tania Hird posted pictures of the gathering on social media.

“To Tom and Al for helping me with pre pre set up, the music, bar etc and Steph who organised the best morning for their dad with Asahi bowls and golf following our breakfast coffee while I was not in attendance.

Balloons at the party.

Balloons at the party.

“A close knit get together James labelled “awesome” and a special celebration for someone very special to each and everyone in the room. Truly special and memorable and sooo grateful to this family! You know you are loved JH.”

​

Tania ended the post with the hashtags family is everything, family love and you can do anything
 
That's a lot of meatballs.
 
Looks like they get the same $3 coles cake our family does!
 

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Watson responds to Robinson's articles on Hird relationship and Bombers coaching search

“I don’t have any ill feeling towards James Hird. Absolutely none. None.”
www.sen.com.au www.sen.com.au

WATSON RESPONDS TO ROBINSON'S ARTICLES ON HIRD RELATIONSHIP AND BOMBERS COACHING SEARCH​


Tim Watson has denied that his decision not to endorse James Hird for the vacant Essendon coaching role at the end of 2022 had anything to do with the supplement saga of the previous decade.

A story written by Mark Robinson in the Herald Sun earlier in the year marking the 10-year anniversary of the period that tore the Bombers apart intimated that Watson’s comments revealed the bitterness that still lingered.



The story added that Hird and Watson do not speak, dating back to Jobe Watson being stripped of the 2012 Brownlow Medal.

When asked if their relationship was irreparable, as suggested in the article, Watson said: “That’s not true”.

“I don’t have any ill-feeling towards James Hird. Absolutely none. None,” Watson told SEN’s The Ramble Podcast.

“I’ve been in his company a number of times and we had a 1993 premiership lunch last year and he was there.

“We don’t have a relationship. We’re not best friends and we were friendlier back in the day, but this whole thing happened and I’ve reached out to him, I’ve reached out to 'Bomber' (Mark Thompson) and I understand people are moving through this emotionally and mentally in their own time and in their own way and I respect that.

“I’d be only too happy to sit down and have a conversation with him. In fact, the 1993 premiership reunion will be this year. There will be a function, we’ll cross paths, I hold no ill-will towards James.

“I just, and this is the most difficult thing, when you have been a teammate of somebody and then you have to make a comment around something they might be doing because you hold a position in the media and you’ve got to have an opinion on these things, my opinion about him being the next coach of Essendon had nothing to do with what happened in that ASADA period.

“It had nothing to do with that. I just didn’t think he was the right person for this time and the club needed to move forward and it was as simple as that.”

Speaking during the process on SEN Breakfast, Watson said he was happy for Hird to go through interviews for the Bombers coaching job, and credited his bravery for putting himself back in the spotlight, but added that he would be surprised if Hird was the best candidate for the role.

When asked if he felt like Robinson’s article had incorrectly suggested that Watson’s comments carried ill-will from the supplements saga, the former club captain said: “Yep.”

“It did and I rang the author of it, Mark Robinson, and I spoke to him about it. About the fact that he intimated that I ran some kind of campaign behind the scenes,” Watson added.

“I didn’t ring anybody and voice my opinion about (the coaching search). I didn’t ring David Barham, who is the chairman, I didn’t say to him, ‘David you can’t appoint James Hird’.

“I had other people ringing me trying to campaign on James’ behalf and I said to them that I didn’t think it was the right thing and that they needed to run a process and find the best candidate – which they did, which I thought was the right thing to do.

“I mean, when you read that story about the fact that James and Kevin Sheedy and others were running this as a fait accompli and that that’s what they wanted to do, they wanted to insert James as the coach, to me as an Essendon person, the fans and the players deserve the best person and the best candidate they can possibly find.”

Watson also doesn’t believe his comments in those private phone conversations were any stronger than what he said on SEN radio.

“It wasn’t stronger (than what I said on radio). It was just, ‘this is what I think is the right thing to do’,” he said.

“Essendon had embarked upon this process, they already had the committee established that prospective coaches were going to go through, they wanted somebody experienced, I thought there were a number of candidates out there that had experience that was worth making sure that they interviewed, Brad Scott was one of those.

“In fact, my opinion was, outside Alastair Clarkson, (Brad Scott) was the next best option for Essendon to approach.”

Hird has stepped away from coaching, moving on from his part-time role with GWS.

The Bombers move forward with Scott at the helm and new figures leading the way behind the scenes.
 
 
When Port Melbourne win back to back flags as a result of his guidance of the coaches, we'll be looking for a new coach.

#Hird27
 

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srobbo said:
Going to a Hirdy & Jobe sportsman’s lunch tomm. Will be sure to tell the great man I’m looking forward to him coming home in 26’ after Brad gets fired in 12 months.
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Yep, let him know we drink secret toasts to his health and cry out for our true coach.
 
srobbo said:
Going to a Hirdy & Jobe sportsman’s lunch tomm. Will be sure to tell the great man I’m looking forward to him coming home in 26’ after Brad gets fired in 12 months.
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The nice part about that is that I assume it means they've made amends.

Those two were the faces of it all and endured more emotional abuse than most athletes could imagine. It kinda made me sad when I read years ago that Jobe didn't speak to him anymore.
 
Kong said:
The nice part about that is that I assume it means they've made amends.

Those two were the faces of it all and endured more emotional abuse than most athletes could imagine. It kinda made me sad when I read years ago that Jobe didn't speak to him anymore.
Click to expand...
Or they can put aside the past for a pay day 🤷‍♂️
 
srobbo said:
Going to a Hirdy & Jobe sportsman’s lunch tomm. Will be sure to tell the great man I’m looking forward to him coming home in 26’ after Brad gets fired in 12 months.
Click to expand...
So the talk about a rift between Hird and Watsons is wrong or over?
 

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