Gisborne is again looking for a new senior football coach after Jeff Gieschen decided he was unable to take on the job.
A week and a half ago, the Bulldogs announced the former Richmond coach and AFL umpires boss as its coach for next year’s Bendigo Football League season.
In a statement on Friday, the Bulldogs said the intensity of the role would be too much for Gieschen.
“Jeff has been successfully recovering from some past health issues and was excited about getting back into coaching,” the statement said.
“However, in the first week it became clear that the intensity of the role was not going to be good for his ongoing recovery and thus he had to make the call that his health had to take priority.”
An apologetic Gieschen said he had dearly wanted to help Gisborne move forward.
“On reflection, my decision to coach was based on the emotion of assisting the club through a tough period and not on whether I thought I was the right person for the job,” he said.
“In being honest with myself, at this stage of my life I realise that I’m more suited to behind-the-scenes support roles than the extremely intense role that senior, high-level coaching encompasses.”
The Bulldogs said Gieschen would continue to assist the club off field.
