Pressure is quickly mounting on Essendon to make a decision about whether James Hird will be appointed the next full time coach of the club.
West Coast Eagles 2018 premiership coach Adam Simpson on Wednesday night joined long time Port Adelaide mentor Ken Hinkley in distancing himself from the vacant Essendon position due to the spectre of Hird.
“At the moment, I don't know if this is planned or not, but it might be. Going for a job when you know there's an inside running happening – I went for the Brisbane job and (Justin) Leppitsch got it,” Simpson recalled on AFL 360.
“I still thought ‘I'll back myself in and I didn't realise Leigh Matthews was his mentor and Leigh might've been on the panel. I won't say it was a boat race but when I left it I thought ‘how did that feel?' I really enjoyed the experience but looking at it now, it would be difficult to run for that (Essendon) position until they get that sorted.
“No disrespect to Leigh or ‘Leppa' that could have been a cleanly run process and I think it was, but this feels like that times 10."
A groundswell of public support after Hird put his name forward for the job has created a sense for prospective coaches that the playing field would be uneven.
Simpson does not believe that support can be separated from club sentiment.
“From my point of view, you can't separate the two. It's snowballed to a point where there needs to be a decision made. What are they doing? It will be a one-man process at the moment. I can't see anyone going for this job,” Simpson added.
“That's how I feel (the club won't be able to run a genuine process).
“It would be difficult to go through that process when it doesn't feel like an even playing field.”
The comments follow Hinkley issuing a similar warning to the Bombers speaking on SEN earlier on Wednesday.
"It looks like this is somewhat James Hird's job, and Essendon have got to decide if that is actually the way Essendon want to rebuild their club, they've got every right to do that, but they need to clear the air with that first," Hinkley said.
John Longmire also spoke on AFL 360 and was less assertive in his stance.
“It's a bit of a strong word to say it's a compromised process. You don't know what the process is. We're sitting here making judgment on it based upon what ‘Hirdy' said (on Tuesday night),” Longmire said.
“Just get the right coach, that's the Essendon Football Club's responsibility. We don't want to run in front of it.”
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon has confirmed the AFL holds no reservation about the potential return of Essendon's James Hird to the role of senior coach.
Speaking on AFL 360, Dillon confirmed the league would stay out of the way of the Bombers' decision making.
“What people sometimes potentially overlook is James had a year off and came back and coached the Bombers in 2015, he was then an assistant coach at GWS Giants and even at the moment, he's got an active role with Port Melbourne in the VFL,” Dillon highlighted.
“He's part of football at the moment. Ultimately, it will be a decision the Essendon Football Club board will make.
“I spoke to the chief executive yesterday and it didn't come up. It's a decision for the board to make and there will be a quality list of candidates for that role. I read today James would be considered along with a host of other candidates.”
