OpinionJake NiallChief football writer, The AgeMay 27, 2026 — 8:04pmMay 27, 2026 — 8:04pmJames Hird’s now-declared candidacy for the Essendon coaching position has careened overnight into a tricky political problem for the Bombers and a major test of the strength and savvy of the club’s new leadership.Hird’s campaign for a redemptive return was launched on Nine’s Footy Classified, where he has a useful platform to sell his wares, on the same night that the latest Essendon coaching casualty Brad Scott appeared on Seven’s rival program, The Agenda Setters, to detail bits of what went wrong – to give us a glimpse of the black box’s contents from the crash.There is a groundswell of support, inside and outside Essendon, for James Hird to return as senior coach.AFL PhotosOne was campaigning to Make Essendon Great Again, the other was providing a partial autopsy of his three and a half-year stint.The reaction from the coaching marketplace was immediate.Ken Hinkley made it clear the next morning on SEN’s Whateley that he would not consider pursuing the Essendon coaching position unless the Bombers settled the Hird question, ie the Bombers needed to clarify whether Hird would coach them, or he wouldn’t put his name forward.Ken Hinkley in his time as Port Adelaide coach.Getty ImagesHinkley pointedly said it was Essendon’s right to do as they wished. If they wanted Hird, that was their prerogative. Rightly or not, Hinkley was raising the notion that a process with Hird would turn into a boat race.Adam Simpson followed Hinkley’s lead, whereas John Longmire (who appeared with Simpson on AFL 360 on Wednesday night) said there was still much to play out in the process.Would Nathan Buckley, retooling at Geelong alongside Chris Scott, consider entering the field? I’d be betting against it.It’s conceivable that Essendon might be forced to offer one of these proven coaches, such as Longmire, the job outright – and a long deal with seven figures per annum as danger money – eschewing the full-bore process that Carlton is committed to running.Premiership coaches often avoid the open coaching searches anyway. But it seems improbable that they will be part of the circus.Corey Enright has some cachet at St Kilda, and has been discussed as a potential successor to Ross Lyon. If he doesn’t enter the hypothetical field, it would tell us plenty about his confidence that he will get another senior gig, at St Kilda or elsewhere. Or it would be sheeted home to the Hird factor.Hird’s campaign, thus, has the potential to narrow Essendon’s options, unless Andrew Welsh and his board are prepared to rule out the prodigal son. His candidacy is supported by many fans who love the redemption arc – fallen club and angel ascending together – but also flat-out opposed by a group large enough to create divisions.SEN talkback, which leans male and hard-core footy, was decidedly in the “yes” camp for Hird. This masthead’s non-scientific online poll - demographically more tertiary educated and less blokey - was 61 per cent against, 26 per cent for a Hird revival and 13 per cent unsure. It must be noted that respondents (about 13,500) aren’t necessarily all red and black.Essendon, thus, has been wedged into a no-win equation over Hird’s candidacy, which is tantamount to a political campaign at a club where political considerations have frequently compromised decisions.If they allow Hird to enter the process – whatever that entails – many, if not most, highly credentialled candidates will run for the hills.If they come out and say Hird won’t coach them – the logical position, if you want a Cox Plate field to select from – then they risk of thousands of fans revolting against the persecution of their saviour.Lately, the question has been posed in footy circles of whether this could happen at any other club, namely an ex-champion and former coach who presided (not alone, no) over an utter disaster (the drugs saga, in which 34 current and former Essendon players in 2016 were banned), and who had not coached again in the AFL system for 11 years (besides half a season part-time helping GWS), putting his hand up to return and a large section of fan base erupting in joy at that prospect.Further, that former coach – whose appeal still rests on his amazing prowess as a player – was removed in 2015 by the same club because they couldn’t win games.It seems unlikely it could happen anywhere but Essendon, even though Carlton have recent iterations of a Messiah complex. At Essendon, repeated failures under coaches of different guises meant the fever never broke.Here’s a cultural explanation. The fans of Geelong, Hawthorn, Richmond and Collingwood have been re-conditioned to accept that you hire the best candidate possible as senior coach. That the coaching position isn’t where “passion for the club” and that tribal DNA must reside.Another small complication is that another Essendon favourite son, Dean Solomon, is now the caretaker coach.Collingwood and Hawthorn had favourite sons (Hawthorn has one now, but he took a sabbatical at West Coast) in the chair, but they have succeeded with industry-professional outsiders (Malthouse, McRae at the Pies, Clarkson at the Hawks).Essendon tried this approach, but they haven’t had any success since 2004 (2001, really, if you make top four the measure). The only success the vast majority know was under Kevin Sheedy, when Hird was seated at the right hand of the father.James Hird and Kevin Sheedy after their final game as Essendon player and coach in 2007.Sebastian CostanzoMatthew Knights was hired in a process and was flung quickly. Then Hird came in the ill-fated dream team with Mark Thompson, who filled in for a year when the champion was suspended for the saga. John Worsfold was head-hunted for crisis management of a traumatised playing group in 2016 – no real process, and Ben Rutten was a handover – again, without an open-field of candidates.Hird was then a candidate when Scott was hired in 2022. Some within Essendon felt that Hird’s presence, and the false view that he was anointed, frightened off a few good men.Hird has professed that he wants the best available candidate for Essendon, yet by his mere presence, that outcome is heavily compromised.At its core, Hird’s pitch is tribal. The brilliance of the campaign, intended or not, is that it creates momentum for him, may dissuade other candidates, and is founded in Essendon patriotism.Whereas Scott was an “anywhere” coach (he could have coached anywhere), Hird is a “somewhere” coach, and that place is Essendon only. It would be long odds, for instance, for him to be on Carlton’s or anyone’s list of candidates.The market for former coaches who have not plied their trade at an AFL club for more than a decade is limited to one.Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.From our partners