Coach James Hird - is it time to give him a second chance at coaching an AFL club? Gil says yes!

[Foxx]

Players have injections at all clubs on a consistent basis. At the time he believed them to be ok, to this day he stands by it. Again let’s not make him sound like some type of monster.

Your kidding right? His injection program was way off the charts. And well beyond anything considered even close to a reasonable level.
The total amount of injections was in the 1000's
He didn't even know what they were taking.
He allowed that.
Monster is your word. Tell their parents he's not.
I'm saying any coach that allowed that should be banned.

 

[DopeMaster]

Players have injections at all clubs on a consistent basis. At the time he believed them to be ok, to this day he stands by it. Again let’s not make him sound like some type of monster.

Your characterisation of Essendons injection program as being fairly routine across all clubs is patently absurd.

 

[Anja_Nees]

It’s fun watching Essendon’s coaching panel in the box against Freo this afternoon.

 

[The 747]

Hirdy does attract out a certain type of person to defend him doesn't he?

 

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

Your kidding right? His injection program was way off the charts. And well beyond anything considered even close to a reasonable level.
The total amount of injections was in the 1000's
He didn't even know what they were taking.
He allowed that.
Monster is your word. Tell their parents he's not.
I'm saying any coach that allowed that should be banned.

God you're hysterical. His injection program? You know he was the football coach, right? Half a dozen people at the club were more responsible for what happened than James Hird. He had a level of responsibility and paid the price for it.

Personally I think being out of the sport for 6 years instantly disqualifies him from becoming a senior coach right now, but if he put in the work as an assistant (not at Essendon) for a few years and a club was willing to offer him a job, I'd have no objections.

The AFL already allowed him to coach again after his suspension and have publicly stated they wouldn't stand in his way. It's a non-issue.

 

[Neese]

Let's not pretend he was actually good at his job as coach.

 

[matthew_s]

Let's not pretend he was actually good at his job as coach.

And any goodness to his coaching was more about the bloke sitting next to him.

Essendon are ****ing insane.

The ONLY way the push to get Hird back is even remotely understandable is if Hird had spent the last 5 yrs as an assistant somewhere…NOT the last few weeks.

 

[Foxx]

God you're hysterical. His injection program? You know he was the football coach, right? Half a dozen people at the club were more responsible for what happened than James Hird. He had a level of responsibility and paid the price for it.

Personally I think being out of the sport for 6 years instantly disqualifies him from becoming a senior coach right now, but if he put in the work as an assistant (not at Essendon) for a few years and a club was willing to offer him a job, I'd have no objections.

The AFL already allowed him to coach again after his suspension and have publicly stated they wouldn't stand in his way. It's a non-issue.

Ban them all for life. He knew what was going on under his watch. He not only had the power to stop it, but instead encouraged it. Life ban.

 

[HairyO]

Players have injections at all clubs on a consistent basis. At the time he believed them to be ok, to this day he stands by it. Again let’s not make him sound like some type of monster.

Of course he confirmed with the club doctor that the players were reporting all the injections, and didnt trade SMSs with other staff about how to keep Doc Reid out of the way.

 

[matthew_s]

Ban them all for life. He knew what was going on under his watch. Life ban.

Only need to read the txt messages between Hird and dank to know Hird was up to his neck in it.

Can’t imagine there is any other coach in the afl texting their drugs guy about what supplements players are on

 

[Jamolad]

...Personally I think being out of the sport for 6 years instantly disqualifies him from becoming a senior coach right now, but if he put in the work as an assistant (not at Essendon) for a few years and a club was willing to offer him a job, I'd have no objections...

I couldn't help but read this as: "if a club was willing to offer him a job I'd have no injections"

 

[Engimal v3]

I think it would be an excellent idea if James Hird were to coach Essendon again

 

[Anja_Nees]

I think it would be an excellent idea if James Hird were to coach Essendon again

Oh I very much support it.

 

[nineteen eighty]

Only need to read the txt messages between Hird and dank to know Hird was up to his neck in it.

Can’t imagine there is any other coach in the afl texting their drugs guy about what supplements players are on

I can. But it wouldn't be a club sanctioned program. It would simply be a currebt senior coach asking what the latest and greatest "good stuff" is to make sure he's across it on behalf of the club.

 

[3rd Grade Maggy]

I 100% think he should be allowed back to coach * and only *. That or Malthouse.

 

[Gough]

I think it would be an excellent idea if James Hird were to coach Essendon again

Norm Dare would be my first choice but if he's not available.

 

[Messenger]

Of course he confirmed with the club doctor that the players were reporting all the injections, and didnt trade SMSs with other staff about how to keep Doc Reid out of the way.

Nor was he looking to invest…

 

[the dog's kennel]

What Robbo doesn't seem to understand is that A) Whether James Hird got railroaded by the supplements scandal and B) Whether James Hird should coach Essendon in 2023, are two extremely different questions.

But Robbo isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so just in case his sources are bigfooty (and I wouldn't be surprised if they were) let me explain now:

I don't remember the ins and outs of the supplements scandal. But even if Hird was entirely at fault, he was punished and he served his time, so we move on. It serves no purpose to re-litigate the question now through Essendon's staffing decisions. If Hird was completely shafted that's a great shame, but it STILL serves no purpose to re-litigate the question now through Essendon's staffing decisions. If Robbo wants to vindicate Hird he should write a book about it, and leave Essendon's staffing decisions to what's actually best for Essendon's football program.

The fact is that even if Hird was potentially the greatest coach of all time, Essendon are the most factionalised club in the league coming off two decades of internal warfare and failure. It is impossible to see any coach succeeding while the factionalisation continues - that coach will be continuously white-anted, and will be undermined when they face inevitable tough times. So Job 1 is to end the factionalisation. And appointing the most divisive figure in Essendon history is not the way to do that.

Appointing James Hird coach would not vindicate him, Robbo, even if he was blameless in the supplements scandal. It would merely put off Essendon's recovery for another X years, until after Hird was inevitably sacked when the other faction wrested back control.

And that is all assuming that James Hird is a GREAT coach. In reality, his record is mediocre and he is a complete has-been in the world of AFL. If you want a tried and true coach, get Ross Lyon. And get rid ENTIRELY of the faction that is pushing for relics of the 1990s to be the answer for what ails the club. They are a cancer.

I can't believe that all that needs to be explained to the Chief Football Writer of a major media entity. And the way he acts like a petulant child every time anyone points out his transparent lobbying (like his hilariously juvenile response to Caroline Wilson on 3AW on Friday night. I strongly recommend you track down both that excerpt and Caro's response on Saturday) would be incredibly embarrassing to his employers if the HSun had any standards whatsoever.

 

[branedotorg]

Players have injections at all clubs on a consistent basis. At the time he believed them to be ok, to this day he stands by it. Again let’s not make him sound like some type of monster.

Looked to profit by investing in a supplements company by using his players to market test, with no real prior testing, a potentially performance enhancing peptide.

Shady and unethical in both directions, not to mention a massive breach of his duty of care, it looks as though it didn't do much but no one knows what long term health effects it could cause.

It's embarrassing he's anywhere near the AFL

 

[gopies1981]

If Essendon makes any choices based on what other club support bases or the media think then they should just blow the club up now.

Just shows what an incompetent organisation Essendon really are if they get hird as coach. I some how think Sheedy is the cause of all this unrest. Essendon need to throw the board out and do a complete overview and clean out of the club

 

[Stumpy Pete]

Essendon would be mad to get anyone who was involved in the drugs/supplements saga back to the club. It led to the club pleading guilty to two criminal convictions.

Regards

S. Pete

 

[Osho]

Essendon would be mad to get anyone who was involved in the drugs/supplements saga back to the club. It led to the club pleading guilty to two criminal convictions.

Regards

S. Pete

Dons have lost their senses. They are liable to do the opposite of sensible.

 

[Boxhead_31]

Is everyone forgetting he had a second chance?

 

[Foxx]

Is everyone forgetting he had a second chance?

He shouldn't.

 

[mikeythemoocow]

He shouldn't.

That’s right, you can’t undo the sort of damage that he oversaw