Sheedy's 17th finals series as coach will equal Allan Jeans coaching record and leaves him only behind Collingwood coach Jock McHale for the most number of final series. McHale coached the Pies to 27 finals series and 59 finals. Although Sheedy has achieved a great deal in his 22 seasons at the club, he still has the hunger and desire to win more premierships. ""I would like to win another premiership because that is what you are here for and that is what you are trying to achieve. I think one of the best things we have achieved at this club is to find out how good this club could be. In 1980, when I first came here, I would never ever have thought our club was anywhere near its real potential as a club,"" Sheedy said.
In his 22 years at Essendon, Sheeds has worked with a number of assistant coaches, some of whom have gone onto to head coach at AFL level - including Kangaroos coach Denis Pagan, Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams, Melbourne coach Neale Daniher, Geelong coach Mark Thompson. Current Essendon assistant coach Rob Shaw has coached with Sheedy for the past four seasons and says that Sheedy’s finals record is a testament to the hard work he puts in at the club. “It says a lot for Kevin's ability and the clubs ability to always re-gig its list to come up with a finals combination. If you come up with a finals combination long enough you are going to get to a preliminary final and a grand final - and every now and again you are going to win one. His strength is about giving our club finals opportunities which leads to the next couple of steps. We are fifth and he has got us in there again, which is fantastic and gives us an opportunity,” Shaw said.
Essendon’s VFL coach and match-day assistant coach Terry Daniher, has coached with and played under Sheedy and also believes his coaching success is related to his ability to bring the best out in his players. “Kevin's success is attributed to the hard work he puts in. He generally prepares very well and he is able to get the best out of the players, particularly under adversity. The team might have a few players out - it is not so much in finals, but during the home and away season. The spirit is always there and he is always very competitive and wants to get the job done even though the side might be down with players,” Daniher said.
“The thing that I have probably learnt of Kevin is that you have to remain positive even in times of adversity. He is very good in that area and pushing forward the positive points. He has still got that old fashioned work ethic that you have to roll the sleeves up and work hard. He is very big on discipline and I think that those factors stick in my mind and reminder me that if you keep following those guidelines you are going to be successful.”
