Thompson is currently considering his future with the Cats after revealing to chief executive Brian Cook on Tuesday that he was mentally drained and in need of some time away from the game.
After initially agreeing to allow the dual premiership coach up to three months away, the club's hierarchy reconsidered its position given the onset of the NAB AFL Draft and, of more immediate concern, the player exchange period which begins next Tuesday.
"I was tired after 10 years and nearly got the sack. He's looking for a bit of a break and I think it's a good idea," Sheedy said from the NAB AFL Draft Combine in Canberra on Wednesday.
"I think Mark Thompson deserves a break and I think if the club is smart enough to give him three or four months off, sends him overseas to let him float around Europe and America picking up knowledge and then come back, then that would be a good idea.
"If he wants to leave then that's up to him and obviously Geelong because there's a contract there, but the health of coaches is just as important as the health of players."
The stumbling block to that proposal, according to Cook, is that if on his return Thompson still wasn't in a position to resume his role then the club would be on the eve of its 2011 premiership campaign without a senior coach.
Thompson has coached Geelong to three grand finals and a preliminary final in the past four years and Sheedy said it was important not to underestimate the level of stress involved in keeping a team operating at such a high level.
"We were always knocking on the door of a successful year [at Essendon] and I think that has a very draining effect on a coach and you do need time out," the former Bombers and current GWS coach said.
