By Jake Niall, Marnie Vinall and Shayne Hope
Essendon are disappointed in what the club hierarchy thinks were misguided comments of club legend and board member Kevin Sheedy, who said he had voted for James Hird to return as coach, rather than for new coach Brad Scott.
While Essendon president David Barham declined to comment on Sheedy’s comments, club officials were greatly disappointed the coaching legend had broken board protocols by revealing he had voted against Scott’s appointment and also for his criticisms of the club for saying the appointment was “fully endorsed”.
Sheedy told the Herald Sun he was disappointed in the Bombers’ media department for releasing a statement that said the board was united in appointing Scott.
“I am extremely disappointed that the comment from my club was that it was fully endorsed, when in fact I voted for James Hird to be the coach of Essendon,” Sheedy was quoted as saying.
“The vote was 6-1. Now, I would’ve expected that to have been written, and that in the end the board actually won that vote. But I want to make sure all the fans know that I voted for James Hird and I’m extremely disappointed with the report that went out from the Essendon media department.
“I’m not happy. Don’t tell the Essendon fan base an untruth. This is what happens when you bring new people into the club.”
But the Bombers, who did not want to inflame the situation, privately noted that they had never said the vote was unanimous, only that it was “fully endorsed” with Sheedy said to have been asked if he would support Scott if he won the position and having agreed to do so.
Essendon cannot technically force Sheedy off the board - he is not up for election this season - but club insiders believe Sheedy has lost touch with the members, who have backed Scott’s appointment on the whole and strongly endorsed that the club went through a rigorous selection process.
Asked about Sheedy’s comments, Scott told 3AW last night: “Healthy disagreement, I think, is a good thing. Whether you should comment on that is probably another matter. But I’m certainly not concerned about the internal debate.”
Bombers president Barham said on Friday at the announcement of Scott’s appointment that Hird went through the “exact same process” as other coaching candidates, including Melbourne assistant Adem Yze, with Scott deemed the best fit.
“Hirdy will always be a champion of this football club,” Barham said.
“I can’t speak for him on whether he wants to get involved or whatever, that will be something for him, but he’ll always be loved by this footy club.”
Sheedy said he had been the dissenting vote in a 6-1 decision in favour of Scott, and declared he felt Hird deserved a second chance after stepping down as coach late in the 2015 season.
New Essendon coach Brad Scott.Credit: Getty Images
But Sheedy added he would now support Scott, who was officially confirmed as coach on Thursday night.
Essendon players look on during Brad Scott’s first press conference as coach on Friday.Credit: Getty Images
Barham hailed Scott’s arrival as “one of the most exciting days in this football club’s history”, as Scott said he was “humbled and privileged” to be selected by the Bombers.
Barham said the appointment was a new beginning for the club and a “renewal” on and off the field. The process was led by a selection committee including AFL great Robert Walls and former Hawthorn champion Jordan Lewis.
“We’re looking forward positively and looking forward with enthusiasm to the years ahead,” he said.
“This is a real chance for renewal at this football club … this is about resetting the culture and this football club for the long term. So, it’s not so much about next year, for me, this is about how do we reset this club for sustained long-term success.
Kevin Sheedy has spoken out after the appointment of Brad Scott as Essendon coach.Credit: Getty Images
“We want to reset back to our core business, which is footy.”
When asked why Sheedy had not been part of the coaching selection panel, Barham said: “Sheeds was in the board meeting yesterday when it was all presented, so he had his say ... but it was really important to me that we made independent decisions and really thorough and rigorous independent decisions. So that’s why we went for our coaching selection committee that was totally independent, and they would do all the work and then recommend it to the board. So I think it worked really well.
“We’ll have a fully united board, we have one now … Sheeds has been a great supporter … he will fully support [this], he’ll be right behind Brad and this footy club as he has been for every other coach in the whole time at Essendon.”
Scott has been given a four-year deal with options, leaving his position at the AFL to take up the role. He said his time at AFL House as general manager of football had given him a more “holistic” view of the game that would benefit his coaching.
“The three years of the AFL taught me a lot. I learned that there’s a massive football ecosystem out there, and I think I come back to the role with a much more rounded approach,” said Scott.
Scott said he was going into the role with “eyes wide open” as opposed to when he began his coaching career at North Melbourne, and understood the harder parts of the demanding job.
“In any high-profile, important role there are parts that you love, then parts that are really challenging. But I wouldn’t have committed to submitting myself to this process and going through the process if in my mind, I hadn’t reconciled that this is what I want to do,” said Scott.
“And I’m this time, I’m not an untried, blissfully ignorant, 33-year-old. I’ve been in the industry for a long time in various roles and I think I’ve got a pretty good idea of what’s required, but also a good understanding of the challenges involved.”
Scott said he had spent a number of weeks doing his diligence on the Bombers, and entered the process after the grand final because he did not want to compromise his AFL position during the finals series. Barham and Bombers football manager Josh Mahoney both spoke to Scott in recent weeks.
“I’m as excited as I’ve ever been to be back in football,” Scott said.
“There’s been some challenges at Essendon, but there’s a lot they’ve been doing really, really well.
“And that’ll be my first port of call to make sure that we retain all the great things that already existed in this football program, and within this football club.”
Despite the recent turmoil off the field at Essendon, Scott said he had been impressed in the process of appointing a new coach and that he didn’t need any convincing to take up the position.
“I was impressed from day one. My first initial discussion with Josh Mahoney, and then with Dave, I think there’s a massive opportunity here … but that’s all it is, it’s an opportunity. And then I was keen to take it on.”
Barham echoed the sentiment, saying there was a lot of hard work to be done at the club, starting with Scott’s appointment. The club has not yet appointed a chief executive to replace Xavier Campbell.
“We’re at the stage of actually putting our heads down and working hard. That’s what we’re dealing with and that’s from across the whole club, the board down, all we’re focusing on the moment is hard work, put our heads down, work hard and get everything on track.”
Barham also said that the external review of the football club was “going really well” and would be delivered in two to three weeks.
With AAP
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