James Hird's hat is officially in the ring and he will try to reclaim the AFL senior coaching role at Essendon.
The Bombers great, who resigned from the role in 2015, confirmed he had spoken with former teammate and current club president Andrew Welsh last Friday.
Essendon announced their selection process last week and made it clear it would be open to all-comers. They will interview 10 to 15 candidates and Hird will be one of them.
“Andrew Welsh and I had a chat on Friday, just letting me know that the process was about to start and that I’d be part of that process,” Hird told the Nine Network.
“So, yeah, it was good, 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's enthusiasm to be Essendon coach again, which he made clear hours after Brad Scott was sacked in late May, is a polarising issue for the club.
Backers such as his former coach Kevin Sheedy are adamant Hird should be given another opportunity at the role.
But the club's drugs debacle still hangs heavily over Essendon and there is no universal support at Tullamarine for Hird's return.
Hird was suspended for a season by the AFL over his role in the supplements regime that resulted in 34 players serving doping suspensions.
He has apologised for his role in the saga.
Essendon continue to struggle under interim coach Dean Solomon, a 2000 premiership teammate of Hird's. While Solomon has not confirmed he will also be a candidate, that is expected to happen.
The Bombers have won once this season, back in April.
