Essendon great Matthew Lloyd is ecstatic to see James Hird back in a healthy space.
Hird missed out on the Bombers coaching job, but put himself through the process and recently made his first appearance at an Essendon past players function at Windy Hill in 12 years.
The club great, who was an integral part of the supplements saga that significantly impacted the club, returned to the game this season with a part-time role at GWS.
Lloyd hopes to see Hird return to the coaching ranks in 2023 and build towards another senior role.
“He’s obviously got the passion to coach. We saw him go through the process. How good would it be for him to go into another system for 12-24 months and get that coaching experience back,” he told AFL Trade Radio.
“To me, he’s doing so well in business, but this is what his passion is – it’s to coach.
“Once his playing days ended he wanted to be coach so it would be great to see him back. He missed out this time, but hopefully he can improve himself under somebody else.”
Congratulations to Brad Scott on becoming the Snr Coach of the @essendonfc From a personal point of view i want to say how proud i am of my great mate James Hird! For him to even be in a space which allowed him to apply for this role. That is most important to me #courage 💪🔴⚫️
— Dean Solomon (@SollySolomon) September 29, 2022
At the end of the day, Lloyd is just happy to see Hird back integrating himself with the club.
“To see where James was, he didn’t want to face anybody. In the last week he’s gone to the Essendon past players function, the first time he’d gone in 12 years. The first time he’d walked back into Windy Hill in 12 years,” he said.
“Everyone was just absolutely rapt for him considering where he had been in his life.
“I’ve never seen him so happy, which is what Dean is talking about. Just to see him in a great space with his wife and his kids is great.”
Kane Cornes agrees, saying Hird should attempt to find an assistant coaching role in 2023.
“I didn’t think James Hird was right for the Essendon job as a lot of people didn’t, but I admired that he put himself out there and that he’s in a really good space,” Cornes said.
“The question is now, has it lit the fuse and perhaps he may go to another club, get back involved, get his hands dirty, learn another system and then be in a really good position to be a senior coach in two to three years time?”