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Hird apologises for coaching gaffe

By Mr Dandalooa

Essendon coach Matthew Knights already says he has no reason to believe he would lose his job to former club skipper James Hird, claiming the club has faith in him.

This week Hird categorically ruled out coaching his former club in the near future and apparently apologised to the current coach for making his life difficult.

Hird expressed an interest in coaching the Bombers earlier this week, which eastern states news has jumped on, increasing the pressure on Knights.

But Knights said in all his discussions with Essendon Football Club’s board, he believes they have full faith in him moving forward.

He said they have given him no other reason to think otherwise.

The Bombers have slumped to 8 losses in their past 10 matches, which has put the pressure on Knights at a fickle time for the club.

There was already heat surrounding the coach after the defeats and Hird this week apologised to him for adding to that pressure

“There’s always been something in me that there might be a chance to go back to the footy club and coach, but definitely not in the short term,” he said.

He said comments in The Herald Sun were a little bit inflammatory and taken the wrong way.

“In my mind it’s always been something in the future.

“But after looking at this week, I think that any coaching aspirations have definitely been put to bed.”

Following Hird’s retirement from the Bombers at the end of the 2007 AFL season, he became a commentator and football analyst on Fox Sports, a position which he still holds.

Hird also writes for the Herald Sun.

Immediately after Hird retired from playing football, there was much speculation as to whether he would be interested in a coaching role at a club in the AFL, but primarily the Essendon Football Club.

After intitially dodging questions about his future, Hird ultimately stated in August: “There’s something in me, deep in my heart, that says at some point I want to coach Essendon.”

These words came as a surprise to many, including former premiership teammate Matthew Lloyd who said that Hird had “changed his whole persona in regards to how he’s answering his questions...Just in regards to saying, ‘I’ll coach one day. I want to coach Essendon one day’. Even those types of words, I haven’t heard before”.

These comments by Hird furthered speculation towards the future of incumbent Knights as coach of Essendon.

A rumour emerged following these comments suggesting that Hird was part of an unofficial agreement with the Essendon board to replace Knights for the 2011 AFL season.

However, two days after Hird’s initial comments, he announced that he had changed his mind due to the intense division and speculation over Knights’s future.

Hird stated that he was ruling himself out of coaching Essendon for at least three years.