James Hird Supports Essendon’s Coaching Search Process
James Hird has expressed his support for Essendon to conduct a thorough and proper coaching search, despite reports suggesting that president Andrew Welsh is “endorsing” Dean Solomon for the role. Solomon, a former teammate of Hird and ex-board member, is currently serving as interim coach following Brad Scott’s departure.
Solomon has stated he won’t consider becoming the permanent head coach while the season is ongoing, but a recent report claimed that Welsh is keen on appointing him and would have to be convinced otherwise. In response, Hird emphasized his belief in a “legitimate process” for selecting the new coach.
“I haven’t spoken to the club, but everything I’m hearing is they are going to run a process,” Hird said on Channel 9 program ‘Footy Classified’. “You hear different stories about ‘it’s Dean’, ‘it’s John Longmire’, it’s myself.
“But from what I understand, they’re going to run a proper process, they’re going through (what) the criteria should be around the coach. And as I said three weeks ago, I want to put up my hand and go through the process if that’s possible.
“I might look silly in hindsight, but I’m sitting here today and I believe there’ll be a comprehensive process that goes through all facets of different coaches – coaches who have been in and around (clubs), new coaches, coaches like myself and Dean Solomon – to have a red-hot crack at it. Because I think that’s what the fans want and what the club deserves. I think that’s what the footy club will do.”
Tim Watson Calls for Proper Coaching Search
On SEN radio, Essendon great Tim Watson voiced his concerns about the potential lack of a proper process. He said he would be “horrified” if the club didn’t follow a fair and transparent selection procedure. Watson also suggested that Welsh should not be involved in the decision-making process.
“You’ve got to go out there and find out whether or not the person you are going to appoint is the best candidate and is the best person,” Watson said.
Garry Lyon Highlights Inexperience in Leadership Roles
Speaking on AFL 360, Garry Lyon pointed out that both Solomon and Welsh are relatively inexperienced in their current roles. “I’m a massive fan of Dean Solomon. He’s a quality, quality bloke. But he’s inexperienced from a coaching point of view,” Lyon said.
“Then you look at it all – the president has been in the seat for less than a year, the CEO (Tim Roberts) has been in the seat since February this year, the footy director (Ted Richards) has been in the seat less than a year and ‘Solly’ himself only transferred into coaching in October of 2025. This is a really inexperienced footy group who are charged with this responsibility right now.”
