Essendon hits rock bottom with embarrassing move to avoid ‘death cycle’
Essendon is reportedly set to pull the trigger on a historically embarrassing act as the footy world remains in a spin over James Hird.
Essendon has reportedly taken the first step towards requesting an emergency assistance package with the club’s 2026 campaign already a write off.
With the struggling club divided again over favourite son James Hird’s push to return to the club as senior coach, the club is now pursuing making a formal application for a draft-hand assistance package from the AFL.
Channel 9’s Cal Twomey first reported on Footy Classified the Bombers have “started discussions” with the AFL over the club’s plea for a draft pick package to pull the club up from the bottom of the ladder.
The Bombers have won just one of the club’s past 24 games in what former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire labelled a “death cycle”.
According to the report, the Bombers could receive similar concessions to what West Coast received last year where they were granted an additional pick at the end of the first round and four extra rookie list spots.
North Melbourne were gifted a war chest by the AFL with assistant packages in 2022 and 2023.
With Essendon facing the prospect of losing former captain Zach Merrett and key defender Jordan Ridley during the 2026 AFL Trade Period, it is possible for the Bombers to head into the 2026 draft with six picks in the top 25.
It is critical for the Bombers to strike early with Tasmania entering the competition with a massive hand of early draft picks beginning in 2027.
The Bombers have not won a final since 2004.
The club has never formally applied for an assistance package.
Hird was a member of the Footy Classified panel on Tuesday night and said: “I’m certainly not against it”.
The 53-year-old earlier admitted he had been against West Coast receiving its assistance package because the club is a powerhouse of the competition.
Hird found an unusual ally in McGuire, who declared the AFL should give the Bombers a helping hand because the club is “too important to the competition”.
Meanwhile, Hird was made to sit awkwardly on the panel when McGuire declared former Swans premiership coach John Longmire would be the “No. 1 seed” as the Bombers and Carlton begin their search for a senior coach.
It was reported on the show Longmire now has a desire to return to senior coaching.
Veteran journalist Caroline Wilson also said on Channel 7’s Agenda Setters the Bombers have room in the footy department soft cap to pay top dollar for a top-line coach next year.
She said the club would have “plenty of money” to bring in someone like Longmire.
Despite this, Hird still remains the key figure in the ongoing process.
The premiership captain on Tuesday said he had not been on contact with Essendon president Andrew Welsh, a former teammate of his.
He insisted he still wants another crack at coaching the Bombers and would still “love to be part of the process”.
James Hird has a plan to take over Essendon (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)
“Andrew Welsh is a good friend of mine, we’ve been friends for 20 years,” Hird said.
“I coached Andrew in his last game back in 2011 and I’ve known him since he was a young kid.
“I have been very conscious not to reach out to him because I think that is spoiling the process, and actually inserting myself in a way that I don’t want to.
“I want Essendon, as I said the other night, to go about and go through an exhausting process – and if I am the candidate that they choose, fantastic. If I’m not, I’m not.
“But in terms of contacting Essendon or being contacted by them, that hasn’t happened.”
CODE Sports writer Scott Gullan earlier reported on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle Hird had “spoken to a lot of his close associates” and begun to assemble “Team Hird” to form a core support group should he be successful in his pitch.
Some of the names Gullan reported included Mark McVeigh, Dean Solomon, Brendan McCartney, Dyson Heppell, Jimmy Bartel and even Michael Voss.
When asked about the report on Tuesday night, Hird said things formally “haven’t got to that level”, but acknowledged he’d thought deeply about a possible support network.
“Obviously, you think about who you’d like. You’ve got people in the football world who you respect and who you’d like to work with,” Hird said.
“But putting a team together hasn’t happened … but you don’t get to this point now and not have been thinking about it day and night about how you would put it together.”
Source: https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/essendon-hits-rock-bottom-with-embarrassing-move-to-avoid-death-cycle/news-story/1244383cd434b29439b3cc3387bd2de6