Footy powerbroker Eddie McGuire calls for Gillon McLachlan to be reappointed as AFL boss

Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has urged the AFL to keep Gillon McLachlan as CEO, even if it has to “swallow its pride” to do so.

The AFL boss was due to step down from the position he held for eight years at the end of last season before it was agreed that he would remain in charge until the end of 2022.

While the search for his replacement was still dragging on as the 2023 season began, the deadline for McLachlan’s departure was again pushed back to Gather Round last week and has since been moved to May 9.

But McGuire believes the AFL should pull the plug on the seemingly never-ending search for a replacement and ask McLachlan to continue with his job.

‘[The Commission] Gil still wants,” McGuire said on the Eddie and Jimmy podcast, which he co-hosts with retired Geelong premiership star Jimmy Bartel.

McLachlan was due to step down at the end of last season, but his departure has been postponed to May 9 as the search for a replacement continues

‘What [the AFL] what they need to do is they need to swallow their pride, because they’re going to get kicked one way or another […] so if Gil’s the guy, pick him.’

Andrew Dillon, AFL general manager of football operations, and Travis Auld, AFL chief financial officer, have both been named as candidates to replace McLachlan.

Andrew Westacott, who left the position of CEO at the Australian Grand Prix Corporation earlier this month, is also said to be in the running.

McLachlan, meanwhile, has been linked to executive roles at the Brisbane Olympics and Melbourne’s Crown Casino.

Neither has happened so far and McGuire suggested the AFL boss could still be persuaded to stay, with footy now on firmer grounds after two incredibly difficult years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In September, McLachlan oversaw a historic new TV deal, which will see the AFL receive a combined $643 million per season from Foxtel and Seven from 2025 to 2031 – the richest sports broadcasting deal in Australian history.

“Maybe Gil just had some time to get over it […] what was covid. People don’t understand how difficult it was during that Covid period,” he said.

“I was on that war council. It was really hard.

“He was exhausted at the end of it, and don’t forget he got a belt, there was a lot of pressure to do the TV deal.

“The TV deal takes a huge brick out of your shoe because you don’t go crazy with News Limited, you don’t have everything else going on [where] you make the wrong decision [and] you get kicked in the head.

The May 9 deadline is important because it coincides with the federal budget and the AFL has previously made it clear that federal funding will be needed to set up a team in Tasmania.

Hawthorn and North Melbourne have both played home games in Tasmania since 2001

An artist’s impression of a new stadium in Hobart. The Tasmanian government estimates that building a new site could cost up to $750 million

In an open letter in February, McLachlan said the AFL came “so close” to establishing a team in Tasmania, but confirmed that a new stadium a Macquarie Point in Hobart would be required to receive the 19th licence.

“For it to happen, Tasmania needs a new stadium – a world-class facility that will be the epicenter of wider urban regeneration development at Macquarie Point,” he wrote.

“The AFL clubs have made it clear that they will not support a new stadium-less license. […] The new Tasmanian club must be positioned to thrive from its inception well into the future, not to fail.

“New or completely redeveloped stadiums were a prerequisite for Gold Coast Suns and GWS Giants ahead of entry into AFL competition. To be clear, this is not just a Tasmanian demand and never has been.”