Grant Thomas: Why Hird is an “outstanding candidate” for Essendon job

Former St Kilda coach Grant Thomas has had his say on the James Hird situation surrounding Essendon.

In the wake of Brad Scott’s sacking the club legend wants to coach the Bombers for a third stint despite having not coached his own team since 2015.

Already some former senior coaches, including SEN pair Adam Simpson and Ken Hinkley, have spoken about the spectre of Hird and how it may spook outsiders from the application process.

“Handicap race”: The worry for prospective Essendon candidates

Thomas thinks there has been some “sooking” taking place behind the scenes, and he firmly believes Hird makes the perfect candidate to lead his beleaguered Bombers out of the mire that has slowly been pulling them under.

He said on SEN Breakfast: “Well, what are we actually talking about? Are we talking about Hird's capability or ability to do the job, or are we talking about the other coaches that are sooking about his application?

“Because that's where I think it sits. James Hird, I don't want to go into the past, I'm not interested in that, I'm just interested in the best person for a job.

“The way I look at it with what he has achieved in life, with his start-up business, his business acumen, his leadership, all that sort of stuff - I just think he'd be a fantastic person to interview. Whether he gets it or not will be based on that interview.

“But all this spooking going on, ‘Oooh, James is going to apply for the job and if he applies, I don't want to apply because I won't get it and then I'm going to look bad’.

“Well, we all know that established coaches find out prior to interview whether they're going to get it or not. That's just a fact of life. If you're up the top of the ladder of prospective coaches that are a coach-in-waiting and you're applying for a job, you will find out whether you're going to get it or not because you don't want to go through the indignity of not getting it. They want to suss it out.

“So I'd ask the question, would Simpson and Hinkley both apply for the job? I'm not even certain that would happen.”

Garry Lyon quickly pointed out that neither Simpson nor Hinkley had thrown their hat in the ring for the Dons job.

Lyon said: “At the moment it sounds not because they think it's a flawed process and the potential fallout for anyone other than James Hird to get this job given this groundswell of support that has emerged for Hird in the past five or six days.”

Thomas replied: “Yeah, but by the same token, if Simpson put his hand up for the job and said, ‘Yeah, I want to do it’, because he's a premiership coach.

“Or if Ken would say, ‘Oh, look, I'm not going to apply for the job, I’m really enjoying the media’.

“That's just how it works because they do not want to go through the process of not winning a gig, especially if the other candidate is considered a stronger proposition.

“Now, whether or not Simpson and Hinkley think they're not up to James' standard, well, I think that's a great fillip for James Hird. If these two guys think, ‘Oh, we can't beat him’, if they're saying they think it's going to be a flawed process, well, just don't even apply if you think that is the integrity and character of the club you're about to join.

“So you can't have it both ways.”

Tim Watson asked Thomas about Hird’s lack of coaching experience across the past decade.

He said: “Hird hasn't coached for more than a decade. Do you think that is a concern at all when you're sitting down talking to a prospective coach that they haven't been in the system for a decade?”

Thomas replied: “Well, for me it wouldn't be because I'm more interested in leadership than specific coaching acumen because there's so much access to information, data, talented assistants and everything else.

“I have no issue with that and it's not as if he's been living in a cave for 10 years. He sort of still watches footy, he's still involved in footy, he still talks footy in the media, he still has worked at Port Melbourne etcetera. I have no issue with that at all.

“Put it this way, if you had the choice between an outstanding leader who can galvanise an organisation who's at their absolute wit's end, let's be honest, they're as bad as they're going to be.

“Are you after coaching acumen or are you after someone who can lead assertively?

“For example, I think Ken Hinkley is probably a very good coach but I'm not sure he's got the emotional intelligence to deal with a situation like Essendon, in my view.

“Because I think you can't have emotion there. I mean, that's what's probably driven the place to where it is at the moment. You need someone that's strong, assertive and is able to galvanise people, pick them up and take them out of the mire of the mud that they're in and start them in the right direction.

“I think he'd be an outstanding candidate. That's not to say he's the best candidate, but I think he would be an outstanding candidate.”

Lyon then quizzed on Thomas on his comment about emotion: “Hird has got emotion tied to him, hasn’t he not? There's an enormous emotional play in amongst all that. It’s emotion that's driven us to this point.”

Thomas responded: “I think it's passion. I think it's energy. I don't think it's emotion.

“To me emotion is someone that gets over-affected by difficult and confrontational situations.

“You're not going to go through a more confrontational situation as Hird went through and I think under the circumstances he's always handled himself magnificently.

“Unless I’m reading it completely wrong, I think he's a very strong character, I think he is a very strong leader, I don't think he is easily influenced, I think he is very set in what he thinks is the right way to go

“They're all good ticks for me.”

Listen to the full chat with Tomas below: