Despite Essendon president Andrew Welsh’s insistence that Mark McVeigh’s Bombers heritage had little bearing on his appointment as coach, his unveiling could not have felt more like a homecoming.
Just days after the club secured just their second wooden spoon in 93 years, there was a buoyant mood at “the Hangar” for McVeigh’s coronation in front of the Bombers’ entire men’s and women’s lists. They gave him a rousing ovation as he entered the stage.
“It’s a great day for the Essendon Football Club,” Welsh opened. “Mark, congratulations! We’re rapt to have you back in the red and black.”
Coaching announcements are significant moments for a football club, marking the start of what they hope is a new and more prosperous era, but the reaction to McVeigh’s selection, or rather James Hird’s non-selection, has been mixed among the Essendon constituents.
For elements of the supporter base, all yearning for a return to the days of glory and fame, Hird is still revered as the club’s most recent premiership captain and the face of their last golden era despite his role in the drugs saga that crippled the club in the 2010s.
McVeigh is no Hird but, given his 232-game career as a heart-and-soul Bomber, has the record to cut through among the more nostalgic of the red-and-black faithful.
What McVeigh lacked on his playing resume compared to Hird, he more than made up for with his coaching CV.
Like Josh Fraser, appointed at Carlton with contrastingly minimal fanfare a week earlier, McVeigh has completed an extensive apprenticeship.
As Hird ventured into the business world and dipped his toes in the coaching waters at AFL expansion club GWS and Port Melbourne in the VFL, McVeigh immersed himself in just about every aspect of coaching at the Giants and Sydney.
Leaving home daily at 4am for the 90-minute commute to Sydney, McVeigh has served as an interim, been a long-time assistant and also coached juniors, the latter significant as he takes the helm of one of the youngest lists in the league.
“Our members, our fans, and our club wanted us to set out with a very rigorous process to undertake to find what is the best coach for our football club,” Welsh said. “That went all the way back to looking at what a success profile looked like for the best candidate as a coach.
“Understanding the Essendon Football Club, or being an Essendon person, was something that wasn’t held in as high regard internally with the panel that it was externally with some of the commentary going around.”
There is no time for McVeigh to get his feet under the table. The Bombers are an issues-rich club.
He will meet with Zach Merrett, who watched the announcement with his teammates, “at an appropriate time” to discuss the former captain’s future.
Welsh was adamant 12 months ago Merrett would remain a Bomber in 2026. McVeigh adopted a more conciliatory tone about 2027. He was non-committal when asked if he would attempt to persuade Merrett to stay should his heart still be set on leaving.
“You must respect your champions, I’m big on that,” McVeigh said.
“I think it’s really important we understand the players’ feelings. It’s not just about the club’s feelings. It’s about his feelings and where he’s at. I respect him. I want him to be here, but I’ll listen to him as well.”
He was unequivocal about his great mate Dean Solomon, laughing off reports of tension between the pair. Solomon was among the throng watching on.
“I absolutely want Dean Solomon as part of the group,” McVeigh said.
But the spectre of Hird still hovers. Welsh and McVeigh know how deeply Hird is loved, not just by the rank and file but the high net worth supporters. Both Welsh and McVeigh called for unity.
“I want to call out the Essendon armada, the thousands of supporters, members, and coteries,” McVeigh said. “I don’t ask for your patience. I ask for your realignment to our club. This is a significant day for our football club, and I can’t wait to start.”
Pointedly, Hird was yet to return Welsh’s calls before the announcement but, according to McVeigh, was warm in his congratulations of the new coach.
Despite Hird’s affection for McVeigh, only wins will silence those who want the former golden boy to get his crack at redemption.
“I don’t fear those people. I actually embrace how they feel, and I understand it,” McVeigh said. “To be fair, he’s been a constant in my life since I was 17 years of age. And we spoke this morning, and the way he spoke to me of how proud [he is] of this moment for me – it hasn’t broken us.
“We’re still together, but I understand, and I embrace the feelings of people that love James Hird because I do, too.”
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