BANNED Essendon coach James Hird will be welcomed back into the coach’s box for the Bombers’ Round 23 clash against arch-rival Carlton.
Essendon president Paul Little says he has no issue with new coach Mark Thompson using Hird as a consultant, starting against the side that took Essendon’s place in last year’s finals series.
But Little has rejected speculation Hird will not be back as senior coach in 2015. He said the agreement with the exiled coach was “set in concrete”.
Step 1: rumours start that the coach is going to get the axe
Step 2: club boss steps in and says the coaches' position is safe. Uses terms like "Set in concrete", or "iron clad", or "safe as houses"
Step 3: club sacks coach.
How many times have we seen that process play out?
The only difference here is the timing - Hird isn't actually coaching at the moment, so there's no immediate pressure on him and no rush to sack him. But you only had to read Little's interview with Caro to see how step 1 got going, to see that Little's follow up comments were step 2.
The way I read it, *Hird needs * to either have a shithouse season, or for *Thompson to be happy to step back, to get the gig back at the end of the season. If * are going ok and *Thompson has got back into the swing of things, I can't see * honouring their pledge to give * Hird another go.
All of which means that even if ASADA doesn't come through, this saga still has legs. Moar popcorn pls.