New Bombers coach’s clear message to Hird, angry supporters
Newly unveiled Essendon coach Mark McVeigh has said he is open to James Hird joining his football department, after beating the club legend for the job.
Many Bombers club greats and members have expressed their frustration with Hird being overlooked, with one powerful member confirming to SEN on Tuesday that he will attempt to spill the club’s board because of it.
Newly unveiled Essendon coach Mark McVeigh. Nine
McVeigh admitted it was difficult battling with a former teammate and close friend for the same job.
“I love James Hird. He’s one of my best mates, and it was difficult to go through the process against a good friend,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“I don’t fear those people, I actually embrace how they feel, and I understand it, to be fair.
“He’s been a constant in my life since I was 17. We spoke this morning and the way he spoke to me of how proud of me he was, it hasn’t broken us, we’re still together, but I understand and embrace the feelings of people who love James Hird because I do too.”
McVeigh said he spoke extensively with Hird on the phone on Tuesday morning, but needs to know what the Brownlow Medallist wants to do before discussing future possibilities with him.
“Going forward, I will have those discussions with James, absolutely. I need to know where his footy journey is going to go from here. He’s obviously started that through Port Melbourne, but ultimately, it’s up to James and what he wants to do,” McVeigh said.
“Those conversations are always open with what he wants to do between he and I. We speak regularly, we always have.
“Once I found out I got the job, (Hird is) certainly on the top of my list (for a role at the club), there’s no doubt about that.”
McVeigh also “absolutely” wants interim coach Dean Solomon to stick with the club and remain in some capacity.
Essendon president Andrew Welsh has been criticised for allowing Hird to find out he had missed out on the job via the media. Hird was recording Nine’s Footy Furnace when he became aware McVeigh had won the job.
“I put my heart and soul into the effort, but obviously fell short and that’s the way it goes,” Hird said on Sunday night.
“I think it’s time to move on to other things. We’ll see what plays out at the end of the year with other clubs that have contacted me, see what happens.
“I’ve failed twice ... let’s see what happens. Hopefully we can go all the way in the VFL and then we’ll see what happens after that.”
Welsh said he attempted to call Hird on Monday night, following the board officially voting in McVeigh, but received no response.
“We met as a board around 6pm when McVeigh was unanimously voted in as the new coach. I went straight out then to call James before the news broke. I tried a couple of times. He didn’t answer, and I have followed up with a text message. I’m hoping to speak with him today,” Welsh said on Tuesday.
Mark McVeigh and James Hird worked together at the Giants. via Getty Images
Welsh added that he is also open to Hird taking on a different role within the club.
“I’d love to see James as part of the club going forward. He’s such a fantastic football person. I think there’s significant value James can bring, not just tokenistic, but real value he can bring. Mark and I want to catch up with him when the time is appropriate,” he said.
Leading AFL journalist Damian Barrett meanwhile has criticised the Essendon coach hunt process, and suggested the club should have put a line through Hird months before handing the job to his former teammate McVeigh.
McVeigh was unveiled as the new Bombers head coach on Monday and has immediately finished his duties with the Swans, despite the Sydney club having at least two finals games still to play this season.
The 45-year-old beat Hird, Jaymie Graham, and Murray Davis to the job that has been labelled the toughest in the AFL currently, given the dire wooden spoon season that wrapped up with a loss to Port Adelaide on Sunday.
Hird - who is arguably Essendon’s greatest ever player - previously coached the team for 85 games, but left the role in disgrace for his part in the peptides scandal that rocked Australian sport.
McVeigh, meantime, has spent the past 14 years building his own coaching CV with the Giants and Swans.
“Mark was clearly the best candidate for what this role demands. He’s developed emerging talent throughout his coaching career, and he connects with younger players in a way that matters for a list at our stage,” Bombers boss Andrew Welsh said on Monday night.
“His game plan is built for the modern game, quick ball movement, adaptable structures, and it’s suited to where this competition is heading.
“We weighed every candidate against what this role actually demands, and Mark was the clear standout.”
While Hird has been working with VFL club Port Melbourne, he hasn’t held a senior coaching role in the AFL for more than a decade.
Barrett believes the criteria Essendon was looking for should have ruled Hird out of the running months ago. Instead, he and fans were strung along and led to believe the 1996 Brownlow Medal winner was a genuine chance at a comeback, says Barrett.
“That wording there from Andrew Welsh in the club statement, it effectively precluded James Hird from getting the job,” Barrett said on Nine’s Footy Classified.
“It would have been best to have done that, I think, before the process started.
Mark McVeigh (left) and James Hird with the Bombers in 2004. Getty Images
“To have him in the last four... then to see the statement we just saw, the CV and work that Mark McVeigh has is something James Hird didn’t have, and that’s what got him the job.
“I was critical, and I said this at the outset, that I felt the decision the club had to make was early on James Hird. Is he going to be in the mix, or can we preclude him straight away?
“Because they’ve precluded him anyway at the end of it. And they’ve had a criteria that they’ve revealed post the whole process that precluded James Hird. They could have done this 12 weeks ago.”
McVeigh played 232 AFL games for Essendon after being taken with pick No.9 in the 1998 draft.
“It’s a privilege to return to Essendon. This club has always held a special place in my heart, and I’m incredibly excited to be back,” he said in a statement.
“We’re not looking backwards, we’re building the next great era of this football club. That’s not built on promises.
“It’s built on our standards, our actions and the work we put in every single day.
“I want us to be brave. Aggressive with the ball, relentless without it, and a defensive system our players trust. When people watch Essendon play, there should be no confusion about what we stand for.”
McVeigh was reportedly at Tullamarine on Monday already having meetings about the club’s player list.
Former captain Zach Merrett is expected to request a trade to a rival club again, while fellow veteran Jordan Ridley is also potentially headed for the exit door.
