Budding Essendon superstar Nate Caddy doesn’t mind who his next coach his — James Hird or someone else — he’s all in for the Bombers’ long road back from the doldrums of the AFL ladder.
He also doesn’t know who it will be — which, by extension, he stresses, means neither does his dad.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Nate Caddy reveals why he is committed to Essendon
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Former local footy legend Saul Caddy — brother of Richmond premiership player Josh — made headlines last week for pre-emptively announcing at a Hurstbridge Football Club sportsman’s function that his son had re-committed to Essendon beyond his already existing contract, which didn’t expire until the end of 2028.
The leak effectively forced Essendon’s hand to release the news officially just after 5pm last Friday — a timeslot normally reserved for bad updates, not great ones — that he had extended for a further three years, tying him to the club until 2031.
Saul also added that Hird would win the Essendon senior coaching job, and that that was part of the reason his son re-committed to the club well before his contract was due to run out.
Speaking exclusively to 7NEWS on Wednesday, Nate poured cold water over the suggestion, stressing not even he knows anything about the ongoing process to appoint Brad Scott’s successor, so there’s no way his dad could.
“It was a Hurstbridge function, I wasn’t there for it, but I’ve heard that he wants Hird,” Caddy laughed.
“I don’t know whether he was intoxicated or not when he said it, but I’ve heard he was, but it is what it is.
“He’s entitled to his opinion. He doesn’t know anything — I don’t know anything. People online were saying I knew and that’s where he got it from, but I don’t know anything.”
He added with a smile: “It was pretty funny, but I did speak to him and sort of said, ‘What have you done?’ I think he has to realise the scale of where the media can take things.
“When he was my age, it wasn’t like this — you say one thing and it never gets brought up again. You say it now and there are probably three cameras recording you and suddenly Mitch Cleary’s asking you questions about it.
“Bit of a wake-up call for him to not say much, but oh well, it is what it is.”
Caddy says he doesn’t have any preference as to who takes over from next year, nor does he have any interest in finding out before anyone else.
“Obviously James Hird is a club legend and he’s done such good things for the club, played in premierships, but at the moment, I’ll leave that to the higher-ups, that’s none of my business,” he said.
“I’m just going to turn up to day one of pre-season for whoever’s coaching me and give my all.
“Whether that’s James or someone else, I’m going to give everything I’ve got.”
The goal-kicking excitement machine, who turned 21 on Tuesday, is already the Bombers’ best forward and among their most important players.
He has kicked 32 goals from 16 games this year, more than double any of his teammates, despite a turbulent year in which Scott was sacked and the team has won just one game.
Caddy would have attracted lucrative deals from rival suitors on the open market if he were to explore a move, but the youngster said it was never something he considered, and wanted to show his faith to the club well before he was due to come out of contract.
“I wasn’t ever going to leave, so I was really keen just to lock it in and focus on footy for five years,” he said.
“We’re obviously in a really bad time at the moment but I think that we’re building really good foundations and I want to be a part of that, I want to be the reason why we get out of the mud.
“It was exciting for me and just a really good opportunity to get some trust and belief into the fan base and then also into my teammates as well.”
Shortly after the Bombers released the news that Caddy had re-signed, 7NEWS Melbourne’s Xander McGuire revealed that the former first-round draft pick had walked into Scott’s office well before his sacking to put the wheels in motion for an early extension.
“I used to speak to Brad pretty often about what goes on throughout the week, whether it was footy or even about bringing people in and bringing players,” Caddy said.
“And I think we spoke about my contract being (up) in the air and everyone talking about maybe I was leaving — which was never the case — but how that looks for other people who might potentially want to come in.
“After I heard that, I was like, I’ll sign now. I wanted to put the team first and if it meant that I signed earlier or prematurely, it doesn’t matter, at least a player from another club might be more attracted to an offer (from us) because of someone showing a bit of faith.
“I don’t know how it really got out, but I guess it all does.”
And Caddy never wavered from his desire to show his commitment, even despite the uncertainty of not having a coach after Scott was gone.
“I really love the boys, the young boys, we’re building something really strong, and I think that I can lead it forward,” he said.
“Obviously there’s no coach at the moment, but the systems we’re putting in, even with the board, ‘Solly’ (interim coach Dean Solomon) coming in and being a great guy and a great coach, there are so many foundations that we’re laying that a coach can come in next year with a new philosophy, a new way of thinking for the boys and try and change out game plan a little bit.
“We’re a lot closer that it may seem. I know it doesn’t look that way, but I’ve got great belief that we can really turn this club around.”
