James Hird’s inclusion in Essendon’s senior coaching search will “complicate” the club’s hunt for its next coach, according to AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whateley.

But dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna believes it’s a trade-off the Bombers should be prepared to accept if it leads them to the right appointment.

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Hird on Wednesday revealed he’d spoken with former teammate turned Essendon president Andrew Welsh, confirming he’d be “part of the process” to find the next Bombers coach after Brad Scott’s sacking.

“It was good to finally have some contact from the club and have a chat about what the next steps are in this process that we’re all looking forward to,” Hird told Channel 9.

“The job interview was for one role – and that was what was pretty clear.”

Since Scott’s departure, Hird has consistently declared publicly he’s keen to return to Essendon as senior coach – a role he held in the mid-2010s amid the infamous Bombers supplements saga before his exit in 2015.

“This was the Hird Manifesto right from the start,” Whateley told Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Wednesday night. “He wants to be part of the process and then he’ll take on the responsibility of winning the process from there. I admire it.

James Hird wants to coach Essendon again. Picture: Wayne LudbeySource: News Corp Australia

“He will be hard to beat on the vision for Essendon – that much I’m absolutely sure of. And then how does it weigh up on a coaching front?”

Whateley also reiterated his belief that Hird’s candidacy could deter rival applicants.

“Hird’s presence in the process before an all-Essendon panel, it does complicate the overall. We’re already aware of that,” he said.

“If we just put up the names that have been linked to the Carlton process this week … if you took a sweep across the industry, most people would come up with those six or seven – and a few more – and go: ‘Those are our most likely candidates to be the next senior coaches.’

“The question for Essendon is how many of those will be prepared to engage in their process with Hird as part of it. We already know from Jake Niall’s reporting that Daniel Giansiracusa will take a pass on Essendon. We’ll only know over the next few weeks whether those names and a couple of others are prepared to be part of it or not.

“This was Ken Hinkley’s starting point on this. For him, Essendon would have to answer the Hird question first. The Hird question is not going to be answered through anything other than the process – and that’s the complicating factor.”

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But co-host Montagna said Essendon had made the right call to include Hird in the official process, rather than give him preferential treatment over other candidates..

“That may compromise it a little bit that you may not get every prospective coach wanting to go for this job. But I think that’s OK,” Montagna told AFL 360.

“I think there are prospective coaches that are selective with which clubs they go for job interviews in the past, because you only get a certain amount of opportunities, I think, as an assistant coach in getting a job. If they decide this is one that they don’t want to be a part of, I think that happens – and so be it.”

Montagna suggested Essendon’s next coach would need to help rebuild the club as much as coach the team.

“For me, it feels like it’s more than just the X’s and O’s of a game plan and developing players. It feels a bit more complex in that it’s a bit deeper,” he said.

“Maybe they need to look a bit more outside the square and how they can get back to being a team that can win a final and be a great club again.

“There’s a lot still to work through, it’s going to be intriguing how this process goes and how many people are in it and what they come out with the verdict.”