Essendon 2022: Latest on Bombers’ hunt for a new coach

James Hird has outlined why he wants to return to Essendon and says becoming coach again would be about more than redemption.

James Hird has put up his hand for the Essendon coaching job. Picture: Michael Klein

James Hird has declared he would “love to get the job” as he waits to hear whether he will get a second chance as coach of Essendon.

While Melbourne assistant Adem Yze has emerged as the favourite for the Bombers coaching gig after being invited for a second interview, Hird has told a Norm Smith grand final luncheon he believes he is ready to return to coaching.

“I’d love to get the job,” Hird said. “I know there’s been a lot of speculation around whether I’ve done the time or I’ve done the work, but I’m passionate about the club.

“I’ve spent a lot of the last 12 months working in football and basically dedicating myself back to the game, back coaching, back watching the job, back training, spending time overseas with some of the greatest coaches in the world.

“So if I get the opportunity, it would be amazing. Redemption is a big thing, but for me I just love the Essendon Football Club, it’s been part of my life forever and I think I can make it better.”

James Hird wants the Essendon coaching job again.

The former Essendon premiership hero and captain said going through the interview process was a sense of closure from the doping saga which ruined his first tenure in the job.

“For me, to be 100% honest, it was just great to do the interview. Maybe it was closure, but if I do get the job or I don’t get the job, then that’s a full stop on a saga that’s been pretty ordinary for all of us,” Hird said.

“Because I actually really like coaching and I think I’m actually not bad at it. I know that’s egotistical to say that.

“The Essendon Football Club to me, I grew up with it, my grandfather, my father, it was part of who I was and I’ve left it in a place that is unfinished and I genuinely think I can make it better.

“Courage in life is actually having a go at things, no matter if you get them or you don’t. And people are going to knock you down and people are going to smack you but if you don’t have courage in life, what do you have?

“If I don’t get (the job), they’ll laugh at me. But I’d rather have a go than die wondering.”

There is a push for Hird and his premiership teammate Dean Solomon, who has also interviewed for the senior job, to be taken as a group package.

Golden boy:Inside James Hird’s life, career, controversies

Hird’s emotional pledge comes as Yze was spotted in an extended discussion with Bombers list boss Adrian Dodoro at the Vic Metro v Vic Country national championships game at Marvel Stadium.

Amid a sea of club recruiters, list managers and coaches watching the cream of Victoria’s junior talent on Thursday, Yze sat by himself for much of the second half but had a prolonged chat with Dodoro for stages of the final quarter. Recruiters from opposition clubs’ eyebrows were raised by the exchange.

AFL football operations boss Brad Scott was also in attendance. Scott remains a chance to coach the Bombers but is yet to declare whether he well enter the race.

The Bombers want to announce the position by the end of next week.

Adem Yze is the favourite to be appointed Essendon coach.

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Adem Yze has surged to Essendon coaching favouritism after holding a second interview with the selection panel on Wednesday.

It’s understood James Hird has not yet been contacted to present to the panel for a second time, and Melbourne is preparing to look for a replacement midfield coach.

More interviews are expected to take place in the coming days, but it’s not known who they will be with.

READ MORE:Golden boy: Inside the highs and lows of James Hird

The Bombers want to announce the position by the end of next week.

AFL Head of Football Brad Scott is understood to have told industry figures that he won’t be making a decision on whether he goes through the process until after the grand final.

Adem Yze (left) is a frontrunner for Essendon’s coaching job. Picture: Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos/Getty Images

Yze played 271 games at Melbourne and has been widely regarded as an AFL coach-in-waiting after being involved in premierships as an assistant at Hawthorn and, most recently, Melbourne.

Essendon’s coaching subcommittee includes football boss Josh Mahoney and Hawks premiership player Jordan Lewis, who both have links to the Demons, where Yze now works.

Hird was a part of a contingent of four who interviewed for the vacant Essendon coaching role last week.

It’s understood Brendon Lade, Dean Solomon, Yze and Hird were part of the all-day interview process at Ernst and Young headquarters in the CBD.

Hird was first appointed Essendon’s coach at the end of 2010 and was stood down by the AFL for the 2014 season after the Bombers supplements scandal.

Hird officially put his hand up for the position made vacant after the Bombers sacked Ben Rutten the day after their round 23 loss to Richmond.

Hird, who last coached the Bombers in 2015, was interviewed after several weeks of discussions with his family.

The rest of Bombers coaching subcommittee is made up of ex-Carlton coach Robert Walls, Melbourne Vixens netball coach Simone McKinnis, board member Dorothy Hisgrove, a people and culture expert, and former NAB CEO Andrew Thorburn.