{"id":765513,"date":"2026-06-28T10:14:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T10:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/765513\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T10:14:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T10:14:38","slug":"premiership-coach-says-he-wouldnt-have-an-issue-if-hird-returned-as-bombers-brutal-season-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/765513\/","title":{"rendered":"Premiership coach says he \u2018wouldn\u2019t have an issue\u2019 if Hird returned as Bombers\u2019 brutal season continues"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The besieged Bombers have fallen even further into the mire, dropping their second game of the season to old rivals North Melbourne as the spectre of their coaching search continues to hang over Tullamarine.<\/p>\n

The Bombers remain anchored to the bottom of the ladder after falling to their fourth-straight loss under interim coach Dean Solomon, who is still yet to declare if he wants the job on a permanent basis, while pundits from across the footy landscape continue to weigh in on the ongoing saga.<\/p>\n

\"MakingMaking moves: Essendon interim coach Dean Solomon has been busy since replacing Brad Scott.AFL Photos<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t even thought about it,\u201d Solomon said of the coach selection process after Essendon\u2019s loss on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, it\u2019s really important to stay really focused and connected to this group, and that\u2019s where my sole focus will lie for the next period of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m contracted until next year, so whether I\u2019m filling water bottles at half-time, or I\u2019m assistant coach or whatever, I\u2019m here. I love this footy club, it\u2019s a great football club, and we\u2019re in the swamp right now. It\u2019s been a tough period of time for a long period of time, but I want to be here rolling my sleeves up to help this football club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Eagles premiership coach Adam Simpson said James Hird\u2019s time out of the AFL system was not an issue in his quest to return to the helm of his beloved side.<\/p>\n

Simpson, who is on the panel to select Carlton\u2019s new coach, last month cast doubt on Essendon\u2019s selection process<\/a>, saying it appeared from the outside to be a \u201cone-man\u201d process, with Hird front of mind.<\/p>\n

\"ZachZach Merrett\u2019s and the Bombers\u2019 season from hell continues.Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are they doing? It will be a one-man process at the moment. I can\u2019t see anyone going for this job,\u201d Simpson said on AFL 360.<\/p>\n

But on Sunday, as part of the coverage on Kayo Sports, Simpson said Hird\u2019s lack of AFL experience since his second stint as Bombers coach ended in 2015 amid the club\u2019s supplements scandal would not be a hindrance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt depends on the people around [him]. He has done the job before. He knows how to manage people. If they feel like he is going to galvanise the club, I don\u2019t think it is going to be about winning over the next couple of years \u2013 it\u2019s getting the club unified a bit,\u201d Simpson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have an issue at all if he came in from a coaching point of view. I think they work it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hird spent time as a GWS assistant coach in 2022 when former teammate Mark McVeigh was interim coach.<\/p>\n

The Kangaroos were led on Sunday by midfielder Harry Sheezel, who had 43 disposals, while half-back Caleb Daniel had 40. Luke Davies-Uniacke was busy, particularly early, while Aidan Corr kept rising Bombers star Nate Caddy well held.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Bombers<\/a><\/p>\n

The Bombers worked hard, and had two goals from their opening three inside 50s for the match. While they later let the Kangaroos go on a five-goal streak, they continued to battle and closed the gap to 15 points with just over eight minutes remaining in the game.<\/p>\n

Youngsters Jacob Farrow, Dyson Sharp and Sullivan Robey impressed, but the Kangaroos settled, winning by 14 points \u2013 10.19 (79) to 9.11 (65) \u2013 and are firmly in hunt for their first finals series in a decade.<\/p>\n

Solomon has constantly moved the magnets since replacing Scott, with Zach Merrett taking on a new role at half-back, and Ben McKay \u2013 who was disappointing on Sunday \u2013 switched forward. He has also tightened the Bombers\u2019 defence, providing insight into his teaching qualities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can be described at the end of the year as a bit more gritty than pretty, that\u2019s what we are chasing,\u201d Solomon told Kayo Sports.<\/p>\n

\"CouldCould Nick Larkey and his Kangaroos be finals-bound in 2026?Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand we can\u2019t get into slingshot, transition footy at the moment with this list profile. We want to win on the inside, control the inside, and squeeze the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big shift and there is a bit of risk with that, but I just feel with a young group, they learn, and they value how much impact they can have on a game without the ball in their hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bombers last week announced the panel to select their new coach will be Essendon-centric, featuring president Andrew Welsh, vice president Anthony Di Pietro, board members Ted Richards and Tim Roberts, and HR executive Caroline Monzon.<\/p>\n

But club great and former skipper Matthew Lloyd questioned why the panel does not include a former coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would probably have liked to have seen someone who has coached on that panel,\u201c Lloyd told Nine\u2019s Sunday Footy Show. Nine is the owner of this masthead.<\/p>\n

The three-time Coleman medallist had told 3AW over the weekend that a non-aligned Essendon person would have been ideal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have preferred an external person there who has coaching experience. I think that is the one thing that is missing from this panel, anyone that has coaching experience,\u201d Lloyd said, adding Hawthorn great, former chief executive and Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend Jason Dunstall, and Jimmy Bartel, the former Geelong great and GWS board director, were options the Bombers could have considered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey ask a different sort of question, they have a different sort of thought process,\u201d Lloyd said.<\/p>\n

The 2000 Essendon premiership star and current Haileybury coach ruled himself out of being a potential senior assistant coach should ex-teammates Solomon or Hird win the top role.<\/p>\n

Lloyd maintains that the new coach does not need to be an Essendon person.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it needs to be an Essendon person, just the best candidate for the club,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Geelong great James Kelly, now a Cats assistant who had a stint as a player at Essendon, is expected to be among the 10 or 15 candidates the Bombers contact<\/a>. Former Melbourne premiership coach Simon Goodwin said over the weekend he would take a call.<\/p>\n

The Bombers insist it will be an open process, with no expectation that applicants be \u201can Essendon person\u201d or have a Bombers\u2019 background \u2013 a criterion pushed by Essendon coaching legend Kevin Sheedy supporting Hird<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Swans premiership coach John Longmire has not ruled himself in or out of the Carlton and Essendon roles.<\/p>\n

Magpies star says teams can win the flag from wildcard spot<\/p>\n

Collingwood star Darcy Cameron says the Magpies are still eying a top-six finish, but insists a premiership can be won from the new wildcard round.<\/p>\n

Successive wins over Port Adelaide and Richmond have not only added pep to the Magpies\u2019 finals chances, but reignited a belief that their best football is good enough to get the job done.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe set ourselves a goal over the next month, starting off with those two wins was important,\u201d Cameron said.<\/p>\n

\"OnOn our way: Magpies ruckman Darcy Cameron says his team is building momentum.AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put an emphasis every year on this time, the cold, sloggy games, and it\u2019s good to get it going with a couple of wins. It\u2019s an important month for us. It would be nice to get three [wins].\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor’s pick\"Hawthorn<\/a><\/p>\n

The Magpies now prepare to face the Suns on the Gold Coast on Saturday, the latter having lost four straight heading into Sunday evening\u2019s clash against Fremantle in Perth.<\/p>\n

Then comes clashes against fellow mid-table rivals North Melbourne and Carlton.<\/p>\n

Despite the prolonged absence of skipper Darcy Moore and a shoulder injury to Brayden Maynard, the Magpies are within striking distance of the top six, and automatic entry into the finals, but remain in a mix of clubs jostling for positions seventh to 10th, who will clash in the new wildcard round to determine which two teams advance into an official elimination final.<\/p>\n

Teams that finish in the wildcard round will miss out on the pre-finals bye, but Cameron said a premiership could be won via the long route.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Collingwood\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOne hundred per cent. You look at what Brisbane did two years ago, won it from sixth spot. Sometimes you play an extra game, get a bit of form and momentum,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully, we are ahead of it. It is an exciting part of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Magpies scored more than 100 points on Saturday for only the second time this year, and boast arguably the best defence in the competition, coach Craig McRae noticing a shift in momentum.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just feel like we\u2019ve got a bit of momentum building. It\u2019s a nice time of the year to sort of get some things moving, and parts of our game I think are really starting to take shape in terms of things we\u2019re doing really well,\u201d McRae said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a big challenge next week in Gold Coast. It doesn\u2019t take much to get momentum in this game and all of a sudden you start to get the thing moving in the right direction. This is a really tight competition. You win three, four, five games in a row and you don\u2019t have to worry about the ladder position.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OnOn song: Jordan De Goey has been in excellent touch.AFL Photos<\/p>\n

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"JonJon Pierik<\/a> is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":765514,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-765513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/765514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=765513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=765513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}