Geelong assistant coach and former Essendon player James Kelly has stated he won’t be deterred from applying for the Bombers job if it means going up against James Hird. The Bombers are embarking on a search for their next AFL coach after the departure of Brad Scott.
Ken Hinkley and Adam Simpson have both stated they wouldn’t be interested if Essendon believe it’s Hird’s job to lose. And Mick Malthouse has suggested the Bombers have already decided they want Hird.
But according to Kelly, who played 40 games for Essendon at the end of his career, the noise surrounding Hird wouldn’t faze him. Kelly has held assistant roles at both the Bombers and Cats (where he played 273 games), and currently works under Chris Scott at Geelong.
He applied for the head coaching job at Melbourne last year, but it went to former Cats assistant Steven King. Speaking to the media this week, Kelly said he’s still keen to become a head coach and wouldn’t be deterred by Hird stating he wants the Essendon job.
“If they decide that James is going to be part of the process and then they want another James to be part of the process, then you just make the decision then,” Kelly said. “You can’t be worried about competing … they’re not just going to hand you one. I was an Essendon supporter. I loved James Hird – we’ll see how he goes.”
James Kelly still keen on AFL head coach role
Carlton are also in the market for a new coach after Michael Voss’ exit, and Kelly admitted he’ll likely put his hand up. “If it doesn’t work in the short term, I’m not crying about it,” he said.
“Just improve myself generally, as a person as a coach – if I have that attitude I will end up where I want to be, without saying ‘that’s where I want to be and I’m going to work backwards from that’. One thing you have to be careful of – it’s their process … to come up with.
“I can’t get involved in that at all, saying ‘well, you should interview me’, or ‘I have an expectation to be interviewed’, just because I went for the Melbourne job last year.”
This article originally appeared on Yahoo Sport Australia at https://au.news.yahoo.com/james-hird-gets-competition-as-another-former-essendon-player-puts-hand-up-to-be-coach-231453946.html
