More than 38,000 readers have given Essendon a blunt verdict on James Hird: 61 per cent do not want him back as coach. The Age survey, run over the past few weeks, found only about 27 per cent in favour of a return, with 12 per cent unsure.
The question has sharpened because Essendon is searching for a replacement for Brad Scott, and Hird has already said on Footy Classified that he wants to make the Bombers “the best club in the AFL again.” Outside the MCG on Sunday evening at 5.42pm, Christopher Klose stood with his son Jordan and made clear he had not come to stay quiet. “I’ve got plenty to say,” he said, before arguing Essendon should save time and money by appointing Hird now rather than dragging the club through a longer process.
That broader no vote masks a split inside the Essendon base. Just 15.1 per cent of non-Essendon supporters polled wanted to see Hird back, but support rose to 38.1 per cent among Essendon supporters and nearly 43 per cent among members. Among fans who have backed the club for 70-plus years, 50.9 per cent wanted him to return, while 46.8 per cent of those aged 31-40 were in favour. Male respondents were more supportive, with 21 per cent voting yes, compared with 12.1 per cent of female respondents.
That is why the debate around Hird is unlikely to settle quickly. A dozen Essendon supporters were asked outside the MCG whether they wanted him to coach the Bombers again, and Kylene Kerr, Kenzi and Marji all said he deserved a second chance. Kerr said she would love him to come back, calling him a legend of the club who never really got a proper chance to show what he could do last time. The friction is not whether Hird still has supporters — he clearly does — but whether Essendon will listen to them as it weighs a coaching decision that has already divided the wider football public.
For now, the numbers show a club split by memory, loyalty and impatience. Hird has put his ambitions back in the open, the supporters have answered in large numbers, and Essendon has still not said whether he will be the man chosen to lead the next phase.
