![\"Scott](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/a4f800f9e480c2a310a6cd1ac8a883f8c4665f89.png\")
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Updated May 26, 2026 \u2014 10:06pm,first published 5:53pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Essendon great James Hird has declared his strong interest in returning as senior coach at Tullamarine, saying he wants the Bombers to be \u201cthe best club in the AFL again\u201d.<\/p>\n On a dramatic day kick-started by the sacking of Brad Scott in his fourth year in charge<\/a>, Hird said on Tuesday night said he was ready to \u201cpit my wares\u201d against the best candidates in an \u201cexhaustive process\u201d to find Scott\u2019s successor.<\/p>\n The Essendon 253-gamer said he was motivated by jealousy in wanting to restore the Bombers to a position of strength, comparing them to what clubs including Geelong, Hawthorn and Collingwood had achieved since the turn of the century \u2013 a time when Essendon was an AFL superpower, but has long been a dormant one.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most important thing for me as an Essendon person, and what I want to see that football club do … is for them to go through the most exhaustive process possible to find the best person to be the coach of the Essendon Football Club,\u201d Hird said on Footy Classified, where he is a regular panelist.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the club came to me [and said], \u2018Would you be part of that process?\u2019, I would definitely say yes. That is something I would love to be part of \u2013 pit my wares against the other coaches [to find] the best man for the job.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m the best man for the job, yes I would love to do that job, but If I\u2019m not, choose the best man and let\u2019s go forward with this club and make it the best club in the AFL again.\u201d<\/p>\n Hird maintained he was better-placed to coach Essendon the second time around after he led the club from 2011 to 2013 and then again for most of 2015 \u2013 a period in which the club was beset by the drugs saga. Hird was banned from coaching for the 2014 season.<\/p>\n The 1996 Brownlow medallist told Footy Classified host Eddie McGuire his interest in going back to Essendon might have parallels to what motivated McGuire to become Collingwood president in the late 1990s.<\/p>\n Editor’s pick \u201cWe were the benchmark,\u201d Hird said of Essendon in the late 1990s and early 2000s.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were the benchmark in the AFL. We were winning premierships. We had fantastic players. We were stable on the ground.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are nowhere near that 1779804372.<\/p>\n \u201cI put my hand up \u2013 I was part of the mistakes that were made at the Essendon Football Club back in 2011 and 2012.<\/p>\n \u201c[They] were partly my fault.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of time has gone under the bridge. I\u2019ve suffered a lot. The football club has suffered a lot. The supporters \u2013 mostly \u2013 have suffered a lot, and I think it\u2019s time for everyone to really kick in and try to make this club great again.\u201d<\/p>\n Should the Bombers turn to Hird, a polarising figure, his appointment would have some fans dancing in the streets. But others would be raising their eyebrows.<\/p>\n Asked if he had \u201cunfinished business\u201d at Essendon, Hird replied: \u201cYou need to sell hope, and that is what Andrew [president Andrew Welsh] is doing.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d probably be called arrogant if I said it was unfinished business. I\u2019m not sure what it is \u2013 whether it\u2019s unfinished or just \u201cdo the job\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I learnt from the first time coaching, and what I\u2019ve learnt from the last 13 years \u2013 through my life, the mistakes and the positives [will hold me in good stead].<\/p>\n \u201cPeople say I haven\u2019t done anything [in football lately] … Why not go and do a bit of research, you\u2019ll see I\u2019ve done a lot in football over the last three or four years [and it] will make me a much better coach than I was back then.\u201d<\/p>\n Hird\u2019s bold declaration of his suitableness to coach Essendon have only added to the intriguing question that emerged on Tuesday: Could the club\u2019s favourite son really coach the Bombers again?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Related Article After Scott\u2019s sacking became public<\/a>, the Hird conjecture immediately went into overdrive. Former Hawk Jordan Lewis, who was on the subcommittee to select Essendon\u2019s coach in 2022, talked him up.<\/p>\n Lewis said he could envisage Hird making a return to the senior coaching ranks. \u201cIf I\u2019m honest, I was impressed by him. I really was,\u201d Lewis told SEN about Hird\u2019s presentation in 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, what I saw and experienced \u2013 I still think he understands the game. He presented really well.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s lost to the game not being in [a] senior position.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e42d9cc88e070ebb61cb2e24379402a176bc6b27.jpeg\")
James Hird was celebrated at Essendon\u2019s 150th anniversary earlier this year.AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779804375_967_76579507025612549384c6cca7210db989748cf7.jpeg\")
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