Bombers legend ‘coming around’ on controversial Hird return
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Essendon great Matthew Lloyd admits he is “coming around” to the idea of former teammate James Hird taking the reins as head coach next year.
Hird is perhaps the most synonymous figure in Bombers history, winning two flags - one as captain - in a stellar career that included the 1996 Brownlow Medal.
James Hird and Matthew Lloyd in 2004. Getty Images
He then coached the side for 85 matches, but his first tenure ended in misery after a well-documented drugs scandal that saw him banned from the AFL.
But with the club in turmoil and Dean Solomon doing little as interim coach since Brad Scott’s mid-season departure, the calls are growing louder for Hird to return.
Speaking on Nine’s Footy Classified on Monday night, Lloyd was asked where he stood on Hird’s potential appointment as the coaching saga continues.
“I want to be really strong in that they go through the right process and get the best candidates - but what a big job it is for whoever gets it,” he said.
“Everyone who comes up to me says ‘we need James Hird back’ but they are Essendon people who are passionate about the red and black.
“It’s gonna be really difficult for whoever gets the job. They’re not as bad as they are playing right now, but whoever takes on the job, it’s gonna be a really rough couple of years and that’s where James Hird coming in could buffer that.
“The supporters are at breaking point. I call it sad, I call it hopeless - they’re some of the terms I use for where the powerful club I walked into has now become.
“You’re at that point of, where do you turn to next? That’s why it’s got to the point where people are saying it is James Hird. Where is it next? What gives us hope? He is the only hope and that’s why I’m coming around to James Hird.”
There will be some Essendon fans who are against the idea, given the fact Hird was the coach when the supplements saga derailed the club.
But according to Lloyd, the time has passed to use that as a reason for the Bombers’ failures, with the team at rock bottom.
“The club is at the lowest ebb in history,” he said.
“The supplements [saga] was massive and people will say that’s because of James Hird and that’s why I’m really conscious of it.
“People said it would take 10 years to get over, but now it’s an excuse because they shouldn’t still be in this position. It’s because of more than just that, it’s because every area is nowhere near where an AFL-run club should be.
“In terms of the hope, he certainly presents the most of that.”
